Harry and Meghan's brief Vancouver visit cost $44K in police overtime

Harry and Meghan wrap up visit to B.C. Prince Harry and Meghan gave diners at a Vancouver restaurant a royal surprise Thursday night.

Vancouver police logged more than $44,000 on overtime during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's brief February visit to British Columbia.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in Vancouver and Whistler for three days between Feb. 14 and 16 to promote the Invictus Games, which will be held in British Columbia again in February 2025. Harry founded the multi-sport event for wounded, injured and sick armed forces personnel and veterans in 2014.

According to data obtained through a freedom of information request, Vancouver police spent $44,555 on security-related overtime during the short visit, which ended in the city.

While the Invictus Games covered $10,221 through cost recovery, Canadian taxpayers were still on the hook for $34,333 in overtime. The amount was for 390.5 working hours.

In records obtained by CTVNews.ca, the costs are described as "overtime for police security."

"We didn't specifically provide security for them," a Vancouver Police Department spokesperson added in an email to CTVNews.ca. "But we had officers in the area they were in [in] case any issues arose due to the ongoing protests in the city."

February saw a number of protests in Vancouver, including rallies in support of Palestinians and Sikh independence.

In a statement to CTVNews.ca, Doug Maynard, director of security for Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, said police were responsible for public safety while Prince Harry's security was privately paid for.

"Taxpayers did not fund The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's security during their visit last February; their private security detail was paid by individual donations directed by the donors for that purpose," Maynard said. "Public safety was ensured by Vancouver Police resources in the area should issues have arisen due to protests in the city at that time."

Public Safety Canada announced in February 2020 that it would stop providing RCMP security to Harry and Meghan after they decided to give up their titles and step back from royal duties earlier that year. The RCMP spent more than $56,000 to protect the couple during the weeks they spent in Canada and on Vancouver Island between November 2019 and January 2020.

"Tens of thousands of dollars is nothing to sneeze at," Canadian Taxpayers Federation director Franco Terrazzano told CTVNews.ca. "It's hard to understand why taxpayers are footing this bill. The government owes taxpayers a clear explanation on what the policy is in these circumstances because taxpayers are paying and it's not clear why."

According to an additional access to information request, the RCMP did not provide security to the couple during their February stop in Whistler. In 2023, the RCMP spent more than $80,000 on security during two short trips to Canada by Harry's aunt, Princess Anne.

"The police should be regularly and proactively disclosing details about costs like this because taxpayers have a right to know how their money is spent as it is being spent," Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher told CTVNews.ca.

Prince Harry has also been trying to reverse a February 2020 British government decision to revoke his police protection when he is in the U.K. Harry, Meghan and their children have resided in California since stepping away from their royal roles.

This story has been updated with a statement from the Invictus Games

With files from The Canadian Press