Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are scheming to “emotionally blackmail” King Charles in a “cynical” attempt to reclaim their taxpayer-funded police protection, according to a pair of royal commentators.
Harry, 41, announced on Monday that he was reconsidering bringing Meghan, 44, and their two children on a much-hyped trip to the U.K. in July because his request for a security package by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) was rejected by British authorities.
But the Sussexes have not been entitled to RAVEC security since they left their roles as working royals and moved to California. On The Royalist Podcast, host Tom Sykes and Daily Mail showbiz correspondent Alison Boshoff questioned why the couple spent months planning the U.K. tour before threatening to call it off over security concerns.
“It just felt to me like a really blatant attempt and a really, actually mean attempt to kind of bounce down Charles, or to kind of emotionally blackmail Charles, into intervening in the security decisions of the British state,” said Sykes, the Daily Beast’s royal expert and European editor-at-large.
“For all my criticisms of Charles, I think to his eternal credit, he has just consistently said, ‘I’m not going to do that.’ You know, ‘I’m not going to intervene in that,’” Sykes continued.
Boshoff, the Daily Mail’s editor-at-large, added, “Harry seems to be intent on trying to, by one way or another, get him to cross the line.”
The Sussex office declined the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
King Charles last saw his grandchildren—Archie, now 7, and Lilibet, 5—in person during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in February 2022.
Since Harry and Meghan’s taxpayer-funded security detail was downgraded in 2020, Harry has repeatedly challenged the decision in court—only to lose every case.
It appeared that he had accepted the situation when the Sussex office sent out a minute-by-minute rundown of the U.K. tour on Friday, confirming that Harry would be accompanied by Meghan and their two kids.
But two days later, a spokesperson for the Sussexes suggested the family trip won’t happen without RAVEC security.
“The issue has never been accommodation. The issue is whether appropriate and proportionate protective security is being provided throughout the entirety of the visit,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Sykes remarked, “It’s six years since you had it. Like, that’s the status quo. You can’t pretend that the continuation of the status quo is a massive bolt from the blue.”
Boshoff added, “Either [Harry is] prey to a terrible, irrational paranoia... or he’s exceedingly manipulative and has been lying... in a bid to try and bounce his unwell father into doing something which he knows full well his father doesn’t want to do.”
Sykes argued that the family would have “ultimately” been safe with or without a royal security detail, noting that Harry and Meghan accepted Charles’ offer to stay at a royal residence last week.
“It just feels to me like they’re just eternally offended that they got the status connected with the security taken away,” Sykes said.
Join veteran royal correspondent Tom Sykes in the throne room to find out how the secret world of the palace really operates—every bit of royal tea you could need. New Royalist podcasts will be released every Tuesday on YouTube, and the next day on all podcast platforms.
