Canada paid for a police presence while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Invictus Games, although it has said it will not use taxpayers’ money for the couple’s security once they cease to be senior royals.
Vancouver police spent CA$44,555 (£25,436) on overtime security-related costs during the Sussexes’ brief visit to the city in February, CTV News reported.
The 390.5 hours of police overtime were not specifically for Prince Harry and Meghan, but were intended to maintain public safety near the Invictus events as unrelated protests took place in the city.
The Sussexes’ personal security was funded by private donors, an Invictus Games representative said.
The Duke and Duchess spent three days in Vancouver and Whistler in February at a ‘one year to go’ event promoting the Winter Games.
The Invictus Games paid $10,221 of the $44,555 in security costs through cost recovery, leaving Canadian taxpayers with $34,333 in overtime. The figures were revealed in a freedom of information request filed by CTV News.
“We didn’t specifically provide security for them,” a Vancouver Police Department spokesperson told the outlet. “But we did have officers in the area where they were.” [in] in case any problems arise due to the ongoing protests in the city.
The protests included rallies in support of Palestinians and Sikh independence.
Doug Maynard, Director of Security for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, added: “Taxpayers did not fund the security of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their visit last February; their private security was paid for by individual donations directed by donors for this purpose.
“Public safety was provided by Vancouver police resources in the area in case any issues arose due to the protests in the city at that time.”
In 2020, after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as working royals, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed that it would no longer pay their security bill.
The couple had spent time on Vancouver Island after leaving the UK for what was initially thought to be an extended stay. They then moved to California, staying at actor Tyler Perry’s house before buying a family home in Montecito.
In 2021, CTV confirmed that the Sussexes’ visits to Canada cost Canadian taxpayers more than $334,000 over a period of less than four years.
Prince Harry is currently embroiled in a lengthy legal dispute in the UK over his safety and maintains it is unsafe to bring his wife and children to the country where he was born.
He has appealed against a Home Office decision that denied him automatic police protection. He still receives security from specialist Metropolitan Police officers when on public business, including at family events, but is required to give 28 days’ notice of his plans.
In a television interview about the tabloid phone hacking last month, the duke said he would “not bring my wife back to this country” because of “real concerns” about security.
“It only takes one actor who reads this thing to act on what he reads,” he said.
“And whether it’s a knife or acid, those are things that really concern me. That’s one of the reasons I’m not bringing my wife back to this country.”
