Prince Harry and Meghan ‘astonished and upset’ Canadians wouldn’t pay for their security

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down in March 2020 to embark on a private life away from royal duties and become financially independent.

But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “astonished” that they had to pay their own security bill.

In the Channel 5 documentary Meghan at 50: The Climb to Power, royal expert Tom Quinn discussed that Harry and Meghan did not “expect” to pay for their security and repay for the Frogmore Cottage refurbishment

Mr Quinn said: “When they went to Canada they discovered the Canadians didn’t want to pay for their security and the Duchy of Lancaster didn’t want to pay while they were there.

“I think they were both upset and astonished

When Meghan and Harry gave the impression that they were hard done by, this produced a lot of negative press coverage because they have a great deal of money apart from not giving the security.

“They had to repay several million for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage and I don’t think they expected that.”

In the bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, Prince Harry claimed to have been cut off financially by his family.

He said: “We didn’t have a plan. The Netflix deal was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us.

“They cut me off In the first quarter of 2020.

“But I’ve got what my mum left me, and, without that, we would not have been able to do this.”

“I always understood that they wished to make their own way financially and I always thought they wanted to be completely self-sufficient and this is part of a media drive.

“They will be very good at documentaries and the other films they will be making in this deal.”

When Harry and Meghan announced they are stepping down as senior royals in an Instagram post, they said: “We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.”

Royal author Penny Junor has said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have betrayed the royal family and caused lasting damage to the monarchy in the year that has passed since they quit