Newly released figures indicate that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle incurred significant taxpayer-funded security costs in Canada between April 2015 and March 2020, totaling approximately $539,000. Records from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) show that Prince Harry alone accounted for the highest security expenditure among all visiting VIPs during this five-year period. This spending included a substantial $365,000 in a single year while the couple was dating.

Prince Harry’s Security Costs in Canada

The total public spending on protection for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their time in Canada amounted to $539,000 (approximately £286,686). This figure represents more than 10 percent of the $5 million (around £2.66 million) allocated for safeguarding around 100 visiting royals, politicians, diplomats, and their families over the same timeframe. Notably, Prince Harry’s security costs surpassed those for other high-profile figures, including the Obamas, Clintons, and Trumps, during this period.

The annual security bill for Prince Harry peaked at $364,859 during the 2017-18 fiscal year. This was the same year he proposed to Meghan Markle, who was then filming the final season of the television series ‘Suits’ in Toronto. In the preceding year, 2016-17, when the couple first met and began their discreet relationship, the cost to Canadian taxpayers was $106,000.

For context, the expenditure for Prince Harry during this period significantly exceeded the $178,584 allocated for his father, then-Prince Charles, who undertook a visit to Ontario and Quebec with Camilla in 2017.

Meghan Markle’s Protection Costs

The records also highlight a specific expenditure of $10,586 (around £5,642) for RCMP bodyguards during a private three-day trip by Meghan Markle to Toronto in August 2018. This visit was reportedly for a “girls’ weekend” with her former close friend, Jessica Mulroney. This appears to be the only