WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Britain's Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have no plans to ask the US government for help with security costs, the couple said in a statement on Sunday (March 29) in response to a tweet from US President Donald Trump that the United States would not pay for their protection.
In January, the couple said they would step away from their royal duties and according to media reports, recently relocated to Los Angeles.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump tweeted: "Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!"
A spokeswoman for the couple said later in a statement: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no plans to ask the US government for security resources. Privately funded security arrangements have been made."
The duchess, Meghan Markle, who married Prince Harry, the grandson of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, in 2018, criticised Trump during his 2016 election campaign as misogynistic and divisive.
Last year, Trump, on being told of Meghan's criticism, said: "I didn't know that. What can I say? I didn't know that she was nasty." But he also wished her well in her new life as a British royal.
There is no indication that either Prince Harry or the British government has asked the US government to cover security costs, which some media reports have said run to millions a year.
The British Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Britain's Sun newspaper reported last week the couple took a private flight to Los Angeles, but did not say when.
Earlier this month, the United States and Canada agreed to close their border to non-essential travel at land crossings to ease the strain on health systems caused by the coronavirus.
The couple had been living for several months with their son, Archie, on Vancouver Island in Canada.
Meghan Markle was raised in the Los Angeles area and her mother, Doria, still lives there.
Walt Disney Co said last week that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, had narrated a nature documentary that will be released on its Disney+ streaming platform on Friday.
Last month, Canada said it would no longer provide security once the couple were no longer working members of the British royal family.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had been assisting London's Metropolitan Police with security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "intermittently" since November, when the couple began a six-week vacation in Canada, Reuters reported in February.
The couple stunned the royal family in early January with an announcement they would be stepping down from their roles as senior royals, in order to gain freedom from the intense media scrutiny that has followed them for several years.
