UK's Former Leader Of Counter-Terrorism Says Prince Harry And Meghan Received Serious Threats
When Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, began dating Meghan Markle, there were attacks against the couple almost immediately (via The Guardian). Most of the abuse they were facing came from members of the British media.
Early on, a spokesperson for Prince Harry made a statement that read, "Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her." The problems with the media became a major struggle for the pair. Harry even said in 2017 that the sooner he married Meghan the better so she could get police protection.
As a result of the constant abuse, Prince Harry and Meghan chose to leave their royal duties and settle into a quieter life in California (via Newsweek). The couple released a statement, "The UK will always be Prince Harry's home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in. With the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk."
Now, a former United Kingdom government official shared that there was a real risk to the safety of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
There were serious threats against Meghan's life at one point
While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, chose to leave the United Kingdom following security concerns, the trouble bled into their visits to the country. At one point, Prince Harry was concerned about attending Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee for security reasons (via Newsweek). However, the couple did attend with added protection.
While some critics may have thought the threat to their safety wasn't nearly as serious as they made it out to be, a former UK leader of Counter Terrorism claims that there were real threats of terrorism against the couple (via Channel 4 News). Neil Basu, the former head for Counter Terrorism Policing for London's Metropolitan Police Service shared that there were "disgusting and very real" threats against the Duke and Duchess' safety. Basu, when asked if the threats were coming from the far-right, said, "Absolutely. If you'd seen the stuff that was written and you were receiving it — the kind of rhetoric that's online — if you don't know what I know, you would feel under threat all the time."
He added that there were genuine threats against Meghan's life when asked. "Absolutely, we had teams investigating it, people have been prosecuted for those threats."