When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) announced their intention to step down from their royal overlords and pursue "financial independence," many questions were raised. What is the couple's actual net worth (opens in new tab) at this point? What kind of work can they do, and why do they want the job so badly in the first place?

One thing royal watchers are unlikely to be able to answer: what about Meghan and Harry's publicly funded security?" The Sussex couple's website, which itself was created without the Queen's sign-off and is therefore inconclusive, has limited information on this topic. limited. Only one question in the "Funding" section of the site (open in new tab) addresses this issue, and there is this short explanation:

The provision of armed security by the Metropolitan Police is mandated by the Ministry of the Interior, a ministerial department of Her Majesty's Government responsible for security and law and order As stated on gov.uk (opens in new tab), "A breakdown of security costs is not available as disclosure of such information could compromise the integrity of these arrangements and could affect the security of individuals being protected. It is a long established policy not to comment on the security arrangements and associated costs of members of the royal family or their residences."

The "The Royal Family has a long-established policy of not commenting on the security arrangements and associated costs of the royal family or their residences.

On Friday, an ITV News reporter tweeted (open in new tab) that the Interior Ministry had issued a statement, but did not clarify exactly what it was. It simply said, "We do not comment on individual security arrangements."

It is possible that the Duke and Duchess will retain their protection by the Metropolitan Police. But even more so if they intend to take up residence outside the UK and reduce their royal attendance.

The question then becomes what kind of security is needed and how much will it cost T&C is a former U.S. Secret Service special agent who is looking into what services high-profile clients like Harry and Meghan might require, spoke with security expert Chris Falkenberg, founder of Insite Risk Management (opens in new tab).

I believe that all members of the Royal Family have always benefited from protection from the British government. Even if Harry were to step down from his royal duties, he and Princess Meghan would still enjoy a certain amount of prestige and attention by virtue of being members of the royal family. The general view is that Harry did not wake up one morning and say, "I want to be part of the royal family," so the onus is on the government to do so.

So when they are in the UK, they probably have as much security as they want. At the very least, if they (the couple) receive any harassing or threatening behavior or contact, they will no doubt refer it to the Metropolitan Police or the British law enforcement agency best suited to deal with it.

That is another matter. The Queen receives protection from the Secret Service when she comes to the United States. Other royals, however, are not heads of state and receive protection from the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

For short stays in Canada or the United States, they benefit from security operations assigned to the British Embassy and British Consulates. For example, if they visit New York, the police department will assign a small number of officers to monitor them. If they move to New York, they will not receive permanent security protection.

I know of no foreign royal family member who receives full-time security protection. The closest is the royal family of Saudi Arabia, which is quite large. The Saudi royal family is so large that it employs its own guards, drivers, and vehicles, with the exception of the most senior members who receive government protection.

A high-profile individual would need to have security at his primary home and perhaps a secondary home. At the primary home, three people would work in eight-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, at a cost of approximately $2,200 per day.

That security person would be stationed at the residence, responding to visitors and packages, monitoring the alarm system and cameras, and supervising service personnel coming and going. If a client has multiple residences, what we often do is monitor remote residences from the primary location. So we connect the cameras and alarm systems so that they can be monitored electronically.

Then you need a security driver. If there are two adults, we need two drivers. And we typically use an advance agent who is present at the venue before the protected person arrives. This agent can be present during the event to ensure the venue is a safe environment, assist with evacuation, and deter inappropriate behavior. This is the normal package.

For example, let's say $570,000 for lodging security, $245,000 for drivers, and $150,000 for advance agents. This does not include the cost of the car or gasoline. In other words, $1 million.

The techniques we use for private individuals are too public to be applicable or useful to members of the royal family. For our clients, we try to stay under the radar.

But in the case of someone like the prince, who has been a public figure since birth, there is no point in trying to hide his address. There is a point where the people we work with are so famous, so well-known, that there is no advantage in keeping the information secret.

Public figures need to be very careful about their events and be aware of how easy it is for someone to surprise them or, in the worst scenario, ambush them. Their location is always advertised and well known, making it very, very easy to plan an attack.

Editor's note: Falkenberg does not retain royal clients.

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