Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) announced that they are stepping down from their work as senior members of the royal family, people have been wondering. In particular, people in the United Kingdom and Canada (where the Sussex couple (opens in new tab) are expected to spend most of their time) have wondered whether the couple are still entitled to security services.

According to legal expert Mark Stevens of the London law firm Howard Kennedy (opens in new tab), the answer is not only probably yes, but really should be yes.

Kennedy is likely to get People (open in new tab) and Harry and Meghan (open in new tab) the same level of diplomatic protection as other royals - even if they are not active "working royals."

"Take the Dutch royal family, for example, the king is an airline pilot, and many royals work, but because they are members of the royal family, they still have diplomatic immunity," Stevens explains. 'It's the same in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, in Kuwait, in the United Arab Emirates. So it is perfectly normal. There are no exceptions for Harry and Meghan."

Even if Harry and Meghan do not work as senior royals (opens in new tab), they will always remain famous and, more importantly, potential targets of those who seek to harm, threaten, or blackmail the royal family. In other words, says Stevens, Harry and Meghan (opens in new tab) really need a state-appointed security detail, rather than hiring a private firm.

"If it's covered by a Canadian or British security service, there's also intelligence work associated with it," Stevens says. 'If you hire a private security firm, they don't have the intelligence needed to provide effective proximity protection. So they are obviously going to get it, regardless of the grumblings from those who are concerned about being paid. Right now everything is being paid for, and just because they back out doesn't change that."

The question of who will foot the bill is, of course, one of the sticking points of Harry and Meghan's royal departure (open in new tab). But there is bad news for British taxpayers who are angry about the change: according to Stevens, it is probably the British taxpayer who will continue to foot the bill for the Sussex family's security. Stevens says it is probably the British taxpayers who will continue to bear the cost of security for the Sussex family.

"We pay for the security of former politicians and government ministers. The British government would probably see it that way."

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