The Expensive Prince: Harry's Secret Security Bill Revealed
Official documents released in Canada reveal that taxpayers funded Prince Harry's security to the tune of over half a million dollars between 2014 and 2020, the highest amount spent on any protected person in the country during that period. The Canadian police tried to conceal the data for years.
Official documents from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), revealed today (Wednesday) by Canadian media, show that Canadian taxpayers spent huge sums on Prince Harry's security during his visits to the country. According to data obtained by CBC under the Access to Information Act, the cost of protecting the prince between 2014 and 2020 was at least $539,575, far higher than previously reported. This amount represents about ten percent of Canada's total security budget for over a hundred international protected persons who visited during that period. The prince's security costs were significantly higher than those of his father, King Charles (then Prince), whose official visit to Canada in 2017 cost taxpayers just $178,584. The revealed list provides a rare glimpse into the security costs of leaders and senior figures from around the world, including children of former US President Donald Trump, former US presidents such as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and even heads of Israeli intelligence services. The data release follows a lengthy legal battle by the Canadian police to prevent the publication of names, until the Information Commissioner ordered the release of the documents. Local security experts sharply criticized that taxpayers are forced to fund expensive security for private individuals visiting for personal reasons, and called for requiring them to share the costs of their protection.