Meghan Markle and Harry completely ripped the rule book as royals and stepped down from their official duties, starting a new yet chaotic filled life far away from the Buckingham Palace and found a new home in Canada. Now that the royal guards are no longer protecting the couple, their security is the top priority and Metropolitan Police Service (MET) has appointed highly-trained protection officers to look after the couple's safety.
However, a British tabloid, The Sun reported that Meghan and Harry have only around 15 security guards to protect them as of now and that's obviously understaffed. If Meghan and Harry's security guards being only 15 in number was not enough, The Sun reported that the guards are dissatisfied with their jobs as they're also doing menial tasks like picking up the trash and purchasing groceries, which does not fall under their job description.
An insider said to The Sun, "While the guys are happy to be out there doing the jobs, there is a feeling they are carrying out menial tasks, like picking up takeaways and groceries.''
Security guards must stick only to protecting the couple
The insider also continued saying that the 15 highly-trained security experts must stick to protecting the couple all 24 hours of the day, rather than being asked to run menial errands. He feared that if there's a security lapse, the stakes are high and all the blame would only fall on the guards for not watching them closely.
''They are close protection officers—and should be sticking solely to close protection rather than running errands. It is dangerous for one thing because if something were to happen it would not be good if one of them was away running an errand or picking up coffee. And they are the ones who would get it in the neck from their bosses if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Ex-protection officer says Meghan and Harry's security plan isn't feasible
Former MET protection officer, Dai Davies told the Mirror that he's disappointed with Meghan and Harry's security in Canada and stated their security plan isn't feasible both in terms of trained manpower and finances. ''There is already a severe lack of trained officers and this is only adding to the Met's woes.''
He further added that their security will only end up being a costly affair for them to handle. ''The average salary of a protection officer is in excess of £106,000 and, on current standing, Harry and Meghan need at least 12 if not more split over several teams. Travel, accommodation bills and overtime payments are set to explode, with residences in multiple countries. Training for extra officers plus potential relocation payments,'' he summed it up.
