London - The majority of Canadians do not want to pay for Harry and Meghan’s security as they are not representing the Queen after moving there, a major survey shows.
According to the poll for CTV, Canada’s largest commercial TV channel, 77 percent oppose footing the bill to guard the couple because they are not in the country on behalf of the British monarchy.
A Daily Mail survey last month showed that a similar number – 76 percent – believe Harry and Meghan should not receive another penny in British taxpayer support for police protection if they choose to live abroad.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have settled on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, with their son Archie following their decision to step down as senior royals last month, saying they will split their time between North America and the UK.
They are guarded by a combination of Metropolitan Police officers and Canadian Mounties.
But the survey carried out by Nanos Research for CTV suggests that only 19 percent of Canadians would not object to their country assuming a share of the security costs, compared to 13 percent in the UK.
Talks are under way between British and Canadian authorities over who will provide the manpower and pay the bill for protection now that Harry and Meghan have officially stepped down as "frontline" working royals.
Some argue that as Harry and Archie are sixth and seventh in line to the throne, they should retain round-the-clock police protection. However, Scotland Yard officers guarding the duke and duchess in Canada have reportedly complained that they are being treated "like skivvies" and are forced to do "menial tasks" such as picking up takeaways.
The couple’s security is estimated to cost taxpayers in Canada and the UK between £3million and £6million a year.
There is some good news for the royal couple, however.
More than two-thirds of the 1 000 Canadians surveyed feel that Harry and Meghan’s privacy will be better respected in Canada than it was in Britain and 31 percent think they will face much less media scrutiny there.
Despite this, last month the couple issued a legal warning to the media over photographs of the duchess out hiking with Archie and two dogs.
Only 32 percent of those surveyed said they were strongly in favour of maintaining links with the Royal Family and Canada’s status as a constitutional monarchy. And 35 percent would be more or less strongly in favour of abolishing the country’s links with the British monarchy.