"We're not their cash cow." Britons criticized Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for demanding security at their expense.

The British public has criticized Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following news that they plan to reinstate their publicly funded police protection. Social media users are already demanding that the couple be left without protection, reminding them that they voluntarily stepped back from their royal duties and moved to the United States.

According to the Daily Mail, the UK Home Office is opposed to reinstating security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, fearing a backlash from taxpayers who will be footing the bill for the couple's security. And judging by online reactions, these concerns are not unfounded.

"They are no longer members of the royal family and don't perform any royal duties. Why do they think they need police protection?" writes one Daily Mail reader. Another adds: "Harry's problem is that he still thinks he's entitled to privileges even though he's no longer a working member of the BCS." "We're not their cash cow," writes angry users. "Sell some more jam. Not a cent from the taxpayers' pockets," writes another.

The scandal surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's security has been raging since 2020, when the couple officially stepped down as members of the royal family and moved to the United States. Along with their royal status, the couple automatically lost their 24-hour police protection at the expense of the treasury. Since then, the prince has repeatedly stated that he feels unsafe in his home country and cannot bring his children—six-year-old Archie and four-year-old Lilibet—there without official guarantees.

Prince Harry had previously lost a lawsuit in which he demanded a review of the decision to deny him security.

It's noteworthy that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex simultaneously demand the reinstatement of security to allow them to return to the UK, while criticizing the Windsors with enviable regularity. In a controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan claimed the palace failed to protect her from racist attacks in the press, while Harry himself accused his father of not answering his phone. In his memoir, "The Spare," the prince also detailed conflicts with his brother, William, including a physical altercation.

Since then, bridges between the two sides have essentially been burned. King Charles III and Prince William have rarely publicly commented on Prince Harry's antics, preferring to remain silent. Harry and Meghan themselves appear infrequently in the UK: the prince last saw his father in September 2025, and before that in February 2024. Their children, Archie and Lilibet, haven't seen their grandfather since June 2022, when they arrived for Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee. Harry himself attributes this to a lack of security guarantees: he fears his family won't be protected in Britain.

As a reminder, American actress Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the son of Princess Diana and King Charles III, met in the summer of 2016 on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend. They announced their engagement in November 2017, and in May 2018, they celebrated a lavish wedding in Windsor. The couple has two children, Archie and Lilibet.

Фото: Ronald Martinez/Getty Imagesmeghan/Instagram* *