Princess Diana's Bodyguard Shares His Hot Take On Prince Harry's Security Drama
When Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle moved in 2020 from the United Kingdom to Montecito, California, the UK government announced it would not provide the royal couple with security whenever they visit the UK, even though Prince Harry himself offered to pay for it. The decision prompted the Duke of Sussex to file not one, but two lawsuits against the the British Home Office seeking police protection for his family, according to Newsweek. Metro reports that the Duke and Duchess are scheduled to attend charity events in the UK in September 2022, which will be their first trip to the country since the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Meghan Markle recently touched on some of the couple's troubles while traveling for public engagements in her podcast "Archetypes" on Spotify, according to Metro. The Duchess shared a story about leaving their son Archie in the care of a nanny at the South African home in which they were staying. "There was this moment where I'm standing on a tree stump and I'm giving this speech to women and girls, and we finish the engagement, we get in the car and they say there's been a fire at the residence," she said. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the event left Meghan questioning their family's safety. "And what do we have to do? Go out and do another official engagement? I said, 'This doesn't make any sense.'"
Now, others are again weighing in on the Duke's legal battle over security.
Princess Diana's former bodyguard sides with Prince Harry
Lee Sansum recently published the book "Protecting Diana: A Bodyguard's Story," in which he details serving as a bodyguard for Princess Diana and her young sons before her death. According to US Weekly, Sansum met the princess through her partner at the time, Dodi al-Fayed, for whom he worked. Sansum said he doesn't understand why Prince Harry isn't eligible for royal protection when he's in the UK. "He should have protection," he said. "I don't get why he isn't given it."
At the time of her death, Princess Diana did not have royal protection, a situation Sansum said he does not understand. "A lot of people say she didn't want it," he told US Weekly. "People are saying that she couldn't have it — I don't really know. I can't comment on that. With Dodi, we had a fantastic security team — the best security teams I've ever worked with, so she just happened to get security."
Omid Scobie, who co-authored a biography of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle titled "Finding Freedom," wrote in a column for Yahoo News that credible threats faced the couple during their visit during the Platinum Jubilee, noting he sometimes receives threats for his association with the couple. "While each side has its differences (and it's unlikely they will ever see eye to eye), there is only one acceptable solution to this fight: reinstate Harry's access to security at his own expense — before it's too late," he wrote.