London - Harry and Meghan left Canadian taxpayers with a £33 000 (about R710 000) bill for local policing expenses during their extended holiday in the country.
The figure is the tip of the iceberg as it only covers two months of their four-month stay and does not include salaries of the Mounties assigned to their normal Scotland Yard security team.
It simply details money paid out for overtime, travel and meals.
As the Queen is head of state in Canada, visits by members of her family, both official and private, are covered by local police with the help of British taxpayer-funded officers from Scotland Yard.
The couple moved to Canada with their son Archie last November. Officials were forced to eventually make clear that Canadian taxpayers would not pick up the bill after the couple officially quit as working royals in March.
It was one reason that Harry and Meghan decided to move to Los Angeles earlier than planned. According to Royal Canadian Mounted Police documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, it has been revealed that the family’s stay on Vancouver Island in British Columbia cost $56,384.52 (£33,000) between November 17 last year and January 19 this year. The couple left the country around March 14.
An email from the Mounties’ national division commanding officer Bernadine Chapman on January 10 shows how concerned officials were about the final bill if the couple decided to stay permanently. It read: "This has a potential to cost us huge!" In a statement a spokesman for the RCMP said on Tuesday that it would not be revealing any more detail concerning the final bill for the family.
The bulk of the Sussexes’ security abroad was provided by their existing Metropolitan Police protection team.
Initially sources close to the couple suggested that Harry and Meghan would be paying for their own security after they officially left the Royal Family on March 31.
It has since been claimed they are actually using bodyguards provided by Hollywood tycoon Tyler Perry, who is also lending them his £14.5million mansion.
But multiple sources have told the Mail that Prince Charles is personally having to pick up much of the bill for the first 12 months of their new life in LA, including the cost of their protection team.
Last month it was further reported that the couple had hired an exclusive security firm to protect them for £7 000 per day.