Scotland Yard is to review the £600,000 round-the-clock security given to Prince Harry and Meghan following their bombshell decision to quit as full-time royals.
A senior source told the Evening Standard: “Royal Protection by armed Metropolitan Police officers is mandated by the Home Office.
“Until now their official roles mean the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their son are classified as internationally protected people.
"That stays in place for now. But as the circumstances have changed there will now be a full review.
“If the Sussexes intend to live abroad, and not just carry out international official visits abroad, it will involve far more resources.
"This will have to be reviewed and signed off by the Commissioner. There is no guarantee it will be granted.”
The couple’s decision to take a six-week holiday in Canada and North America over Christmas meant the family was protected by Scotland Yard.
That operation is understood to have caused some “disquiet” in the department given the resources needed, and involved more than 10 officers. Replacement officers had to be flown out to maintain the rota.
Another close source told the Standard: “This is simply not practical going forward given officers working in the department have families and private lives to consider too. It is also a question of resources.”
In a statement, Harry and Meghan said they plan to split their time between the UK and North America.
A Met Police spokesman said: “We never discuss matters of security.”
When Harry visited Meghan in Canada during the early stages of their relationship, security officers outside her apartment were thought to be Canadian, funded by the country’s taxpayers.
The couple have sought to answer queries about their security costs on their new website, sussexroyal.com.
Under the question “Does their future financial autonomy extend to covering the costs of security?”, the website states: “The provision of armed security by The Metropolitan Police is mandated by the Home Office.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are classified as internationally protected people which mandates this level of security.”
The undisclosed cost of guarding the royal family as a whole is estimated to be more than £100 million a year.
