Stepping back from being frontline, working royals, did not magic away the threat the Sussexes and their children face. Ever since he was a child Harry would have been lectured in the need for personal protection, and like other royals been taught to accept the need for “cradle to grave” security, one of his former protection officers said.
Those who have performed royal security duties said Harry, Meghan and their family remained as much targets now as before they relocated overseas.
Robert Quick, Scotland Yard’s former head of counter-terrorism, whose command included its specialist protection royal officers, said there were multiple sources of threat. “There is an ever-present threat, from the fixated, from those with mental illness, there’s the terror threat to any high-value public figure,” he said.
Harry served in Afghanistan, which may place him at risk, as well as the fact the couple are celebrities in their own right, more so after the interview, which gained widespread attention. “They are the target for kidnap for a political purpose or a hate-driven motive,” Quick said, adding: “You can’t change who they are or their history.”
Royal protection is provided by Scotland Yard’s SO14. Simon Morgan was a personal protection officer for several royals, including Prince Harry, from 2007 to 2013. Harry would have come to know his police protection officers, Morgan said, as some had been with him for years and were integrated into his life. “It is a trusted role, you build up a rapport with your principal. You can understand how much anxiety having your protection detail taken away can cause,” he said.
Meghan when she joined the royals would have been given security training, including dealing with being a victim of kidnapping.
The decision on who gets protection is made by Ravec, the royal and VIP executive committee, made up of senior civil servants, the royal household and senior Scotland Yard officers, with input from Britain’s security services. It balances threats, bearing in mind the cost to the public.
Morgan said it was not a decision made by the royal family: “That is not a royal family decision, it is not a gift the Queen can give or take away.”
Quick, pointing to the couple’s decision to relocate overseas, added: “I’ve never heard of the Met providing protection to someone who lives overseas permanently.”
The logistics of British police officers spending long tours of duty, away from their own families, would be hugely onerous to manage.
Quick said: “Harry and Meghan are now private individuals and so [do] not have obligations [like working royals], it is a choice as to what they do. A working royal is obligated and are performing state functions.”
That left the Sussexes to find their own security. Morgan, who now runs his own private security firm, said that could cost the couple £5,000 to £10,000 a day, and estimated they were spending about £2.5m a year, with the cost escalating when they travelled.
The package is much more than just a bodyguard with a concealed weapon. To replicate the protection they had when working royals, as well as protection officers, they need specially trained drivers, residential security and cybersecurity, as well as the ability to generate intelligence to get ahead of any threats.
One upside of finding and paying for their own security is that it allows the couple to dictate their needs, with arguably their biggest on a daily basis being guarding against press intrusion.
Morgan said Harry’s former British protection officers would have been better trained: “In the US they are more likely to be ex-military or from private security.
“Met protection officers have 26-30 weeks of courses before becoming operational.”
Police protection officers were specially trained so that in the event of a threat they would not freeze, but either go into fight or flight mode. “Sensory shutdown is trained out of you,” Morgan said.
