In a tweet Sunday, President Trump said that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle must pay for their own security if they move to the United States.
The tweet was in response to a report that the couple had moved with their son Archie from Vancouver Island (where they went after leaving the U.K. and disavowing their royal life) to Los Angeles. “The U.S. will not pay for their security protection,” Trump tweeted. “They must pay.”
I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom. It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020
Later on Sunday, the royal couple replied to those rumors saying, in a statement to Chris Ship, royal correspondent for British television network ITV, that “privately funded security arrangements have been made” and that Meghan and Harry have “no plans” to get assistance from the U.S.
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan has just told us that “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no plans to ask the U.S. government for security resources. Privately funded security arrangements have been made.”
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 29, 2020
When living in Canada, which is part of the British Commonwealth, the Canadian government did for some time help foot the bill of the couple’s security, but that has since ended.