Did British taxpayers pay for Prince Harry’s two-day booty call in Toronto?

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Here are some photos of Prince Harry in London today at ICAP’s Annual Charity Trading Day. Harry does “trades” on behalf of charity, basically. It’s a decent event, and one that the royals have done before. My guess is that Harry flew back to London late Tuesday, or possibly even overnight. As we learned yesterday, Harry ditched his people two seconds after his royal tour of the Caribbean was done and he flew to Toronto to see his lov-ah Meghan Markle. That was on Sunday, and I guess they probably got a solid 48 hours with each other before he had to fly back to London. But the Daily Express has an interesting story about what was happening behind-the-scenes, with (Poor) Jason Knauf flat-out lying to the press about Harry’s plans.

Prince Harry’s dash to see his girlfriend Meghan Markle in Toronto came despite Kensington Palace’s insistence that he would not be seeing her en route to or from the Caribbean tour. At a pre-tour briefing at Buckingham Palace on November 10, Jason Knauf, the communications secretary for William, Kate and Harry, said the Prince would be travelling directly from London to the Caribbean and back again. His answer came in response to a question from the BBC about whether he might see Ms Markle, 35, in Canada.

On the tour itself, royal aides maintained that Harry would be returning directly to London at the end of the 15-day tour of seven nations. That was still the line a few moments before the Prince and his party left Ogle Airport in Georgetown, Guyana, on a charter plane bound for Barbados on Sunday afternoon to join a scheduled British Airways service to Gatwick.

A Daily Express reporter asked one aide: “Can I just check, is Prince Harry flying on BA to London from Barbados tonight? The aide replied: “Yes.”

Harry’s decision to fly via Toronto will have added to the cost of his First Class return flight between Barbados and London but royal sources insisted the taxpayer would not pick up the bill. The Prince will fund the extra cost himself, although his police bodyguards’ costs will be paid for by taxpayers.

Combining a taxpayer-funded flight home from an official visit representing the Queen with a trip to see his girlfriend also appears to be in breach of assurances given to the National Audit Office by the Royal Household in 2004 during an investigation into Prince Andrew’s travel. The report stated: “Members of the Royal Family are entitled to grant-in-aid for official travel, as are their staff and, where capacity permits, other officials. They meet their own costs, however, for private travel. In order to avoid confusion, combining private and public engagements in the same trip is actively discouraged.” Kensington Palace said it had no comment.

[From The Daily Express]

Basically, this is the kind of story we’re used to hearing about Prince William, not Harry. William has pulled this kind of thing before, notably when he wanted to make a private trip to Kenya for Jecca Craig’s wedding, but he tacked on some “official” business at the last minute so taxpayers would pick up the cost and not bitch about the fact that he brought staffers and bodyguards. Except in this case, with Harry, the order is reversed – he was on royal business and he decided to tack on a few days of non-business related activities. Now, do you believe that Harry decided at the very last minute that he just had to spend a few days with Meghan? Or do you think this was always his plan and Poor Jason was just misleading the press? I honestly don’t know. But yeah, it looks bad that Harry ditched his press pool and his staffers so he could make an international booty call.

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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91 Responses to “Did British taxpayers pay for Prince Harry’s two-day booty call in Toronto?”

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  1. The Original Mia says:

    How did he abandon them? Everyone went home. After all the behind the scenes problems, I’m sure everyone was more than ready to bid him and the Caribbean adieu. I have no problem with the man going to see his girlfriend after he’s completed his work and on his dime. I also don’t think he has to tell the press pack about a visit to his girlfriend.

    • Olenna says:

      I agree. He shouldn’t have to tell the press anything about his personal life. And, correct me if I’m wrong, I thought the Telegraph article said he paid for his own ticket. So, I’m guessing the outrage is over who paid for RPO coverage while in Toronto and is his ticket to London refundable. Was there this much hullabaloo when William’s RPOs were jetting around with him and Katie to Ibiza, Africa and the Alps before they married?

    • Emily says:

      Agreed. And could we maybe stop referring to a 2-day visit to see your established girlfriend as a “booty-call”?

    • swak says:

      Agree totally.

    • Sixer says:

      He didn’t abandon anyone, I agree.

      HOWEVER, the royal finances are shady enough as it is. He has no more justification in obfuscating who is paying for what than Normal Bill does.

      Harry isn’t, and shouldn’t be, exempt from transparency in finances whether he’s got a girlfriend or not, and whether respective schedules mean it’s tight to meet up or not.

      He does official duties on my dime. And that’s it. And if we don’t get the receipts – and we NEVER get the receipts – then I see this diversion as bang out of order.

      • Timbuktu says:

        Seriously. Even if it just *seems* bad, just don’t do it. She’s an actress, he’s a freaking prince, neither has a 9-5 job, both are well-off (to say the least), surely they could find another way to get together just a couple of days later.

      • The Original Mia says:

        He isn’t exempt, but we have no idea who paid for his RPOs. We can guess from past behavior the taxpayers were responsible for it, but since everything about this jaunt seems to be on Harry’s dime, isn’t there the slightest possibility he came out of pocket for them as well?

      • TheSageM says:

        @the Original Mia
        “we can guess”, “we have no idea”, “seems to be”. As a British taxpayer my answer to all of that is: Not good enough.

      • Sixer says:

        “we have no idea”

        But that’s the entire point, Mia! If Harry can’t be above board about who has paid for what, then he shouldn’t be doing it. And I most certainly shouldn’t be paying for it.

        It’s not about benefit of the doubt for celebrities you like. It’s about transparency for public servants. Massive difference.

    • ViXi says:

      After spending two weeks in Barbados with Rihanna, he better see his gf or else!
      lol – at least I would want my partner to see me after spending time with some hot celebrity. It’s good reassurance that your relationship is secure and putting in effort that you are committed. Not that I’m buying these two. So many fake relationship these days among famous celebs, it’s hard to tell what is genuine.

      • Tina says:

        The royals aren’t like celebrities. They don’t need (or, for the most part, want) to be famous. They just will be famous, for their entire lives. I keep harping on about this, but the statement from Kensington Palace was so remarkable in many ways. Whether it lasts or not, this is the real deal.

    • sarah says:

      OK, but does his security get paid for by him or the taxpayers when he goes to a foreign city on a booty call. I would be pissed at paying for his security as he travels around the world for fun. Let him pay for it. He’s rich.

      And I like Harry, but he does seem as entitled as his big brother Willy.

  2. Kate says:

    First of all she clearly is more than a booty call to him. If he wanted just sex, he’d have someone in the UK. Second there is no need to tell the press about his private time. None at all. He did his duty and was free to spend two days with his girlfriend who obviously makes him very happy.

  3. anniefannie says:

    He’s a workhorse so I don’t know why a little down time isn’t deserved! More importantly, I don’t know if it’s the lighting or angle of the top pic but Harry’s package…..impressive…

  4. TheSageM says:

    Has nobody read the last paragraph? These things need to be kept separate. There’s nothing stopping him from flying out to Canada from London to see her. Transparency is important in these matters, and that’s why the Royal household made assurances in 2004.

    • Sixer says:

      +1

      (Or, more accurately, + the entire Sovereign Grant.)

    • als says:

      I do think they need to keep the expenses transparent but I also get the impression Harry won’t be able to keep private and public separate.

      That letter he sent trying to protect her was romantic but making a two day detour off official duties (I think the duties were supposed to end when he was back in London) because you are just itching to see your girlfriend is very much a teenager thing to do. And they are not teenagers.
      Why the hurry? Why risk all this scandal? Again, why the hurry?

      I like both of them, she is absolutely gorgeous but I have to admit when I saw her age the thought crossed my mind that this is mature, serious love, the kind that makes you aware that you have to blend responsability with play time by demonstrating patience and long term commitment. Maybe some people call this innocent love excitement, I call it stupidity over not controlling your feelings and hormones.

      • notasugarhere says:

        His tour duties ended with the final event of the tour, not the flight home or arriving home. He did 15 days of work, gave the press loads of access including an off-the-record pub event, then took a day off and returned to work this morning. If he paid his own expenses, as he should, I don’t have a problem here.

      • Sixer says:

        Nota – I think the point is more “if he can be SEEN to be paying his own expenses, I don’t have a problem with it”. You know?

      • notasugarhere says:

        I think it likely this point is being belabored because some people don’t like his girlfriend. Not you, but some others who are going on and on about this here and elsewhere.

        The RPOs always protect royals on their personal time. The royals should pay RPO expenses when they are on vacation, I’ve been harping on that for years. How many of them do? How many receipts have we seen? How much does it cost when Kate runs home to mummy, to the house that secretly has millions in taxpayer-funded security upgrades on Middleton private property?

        It appears Harry is being used as a convenient whipping boy, perhaps because this was easy to track, perhaps because the press refuses to confront the BRF about W&K and their exponential security costs.

      • Timbuktu says:

        @notasugarhere
        but at the same time, Kate’s parents’ home has already no doubt been remodeled to include necessary security feathers, whereas Meagan’s house no doubt hasn’t been. She also uses their own cars, etc.
        Harry dashed over to Canada for just 2 days, not only did he have bodyguards, I’m sure he didn’t just rent any old car, he house probably had to be swept and somehow secured (especially now that paparazzi are on to them), etc. All that for a girl who could be quite temporary, at this point.
        So, in many ways, his 2-day-joint DOES seem more frivolous than Kate making sure she can pay impromptu visits to her family without compromising the safety of her kids.

      • notasugarhere says:

        So everyone else gets security on their personal time, for whatever they want, but not Harry?

        Taxpayer money used on the Middletons private residence is supposed to be okay? Taxpayer-funded helicopters being used to ferry them from residence to residence (Berkshire and Anmer included?), all covered for W&K as “senior royals” and hidden in a recent royal report (thanks, LAK).

        Because immature KM cannot live without mummy daily so she refuses to stay in the 7 million secured KP apartment that was revamped for them? Or the private residence at Anmer where taxpayer money was also used, and it constantly used for their security even though it is HM’s private property? The Berkshire villagers constantly having to pay overtime and extra for police presence and their local ambulance, because those are all put on-call for KM when she visits is supposed to be accepted without complaint?

        Harry is a public figure and a high target, his life involves RPOs. Just like everyone else in that family, if they are a working royal those expenses are paid by taxpayers. When they go on vacation, I think the added security burden should be paid by the individual royal. Just like the added security burdens of Balmoral, Sandringham, Berkshire, and Ray Mill should be paid by the individual royals but I doubt they are.

        What I see is a whole lot of bashing of Harry for what is standard procedure – RPOs are with them whether the royal is working or not. We’re told he paid the added expenses, no proof he did or didn’t. But only Harry is being held up and gutted over this? Feels very heir vs. spare convenient again.

      • Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

        @NOTA – lets not forget the times that the Middletons have used RPO’s (paid for by the taxpayer) for their own personal security i.e. Pippa’s book launch with James was caught by the press ordering one to park his car for him.

        The Cambridges have a long history of misusing their security, they all have done it but none are as prolific as the DoLittles.

      • Timbuktu says:

        I’m not sure who you are talking to about “only Harry being gutted”. I have 0 affection for anyone in the royal family and it’s the first time I’ve voiced an opinion about Harry, while I’ve agreed with the critics of K&W on many occasions.
        I think that your opinion shows your pro-Harry bias more than anything else, to be honest. I think all misappropriation of funds is wrong, not just Harry’s (if any), but just because William does it does not make it ok for Harry.
        I also think it’s sort of irrelevant whether Kate runs to mummy daily or not: they are the grandparents of an heir, their house had to be secured regardless. So, the snark about immature Kate seems to be gratuitous meanness.

      • notasugarhere says:

        I’m agreeing that these type of expenses should be paid by the royals personally. What I disagree with is the number of people who seem to be having fits over Harry flying to Toronto on his own dime and said to pay the expenses for the RPOs himself. He has no say in having RPOs with him at all times. If he pays their expenses for private trips, where is the issue?

        The Middletons private home does not have to be secured with taxpayer money for any reason. No other royal in-laws have their houses secured by the taxpayers, so why this set? Those supposed millionaires can pay to secure their own private property.

        If KM is unwilling to stay in the taxpayer-provided and secured properties provided for her, or if her husband doesn’t want to live with her? Her parents and William should be footing the bill for security expenses at her parents house. Just as Charles (personally not the Duchy) should be footing the bill for security at Ray Mill.

      • sarah says:

        From what I’ve read about Harry, how he sends numerous texts to women he’s interested in and is very much in pursuit, it seems as though he is a teenager. And fine, go see your girlfriend, but pay for your own security. He is rich enough to do it, so he should. Taxpayers should only pay for security for official duties. It’s not like the President or Prime Minister. He doesn’t really do a job for the nation.

      • Sixer says:

        The RPO thing is just a red herring. The state pays for 24/7/365 protection for working royals. It’s fine.

        The point is that the Royal Household has given undertakings to Parliament that there will be clear delineation between public duty and private visits to ensure transparency in expenditures. The taxpayer took the royals at their word (of dishonour) that they reimbursed costs of private extensions to visits until an investigation by the National Audit Office found that they didn’t.

        At this point, the Royal Household undertook to keep private and public visits entirely separate.

        Harry didn’t do this. Therefore Harry is at fault. And his word, along with the word of the rest of them, that costs were reimbursed, is no longer good enough. The end.

      • suze says:

        You don’t issue statements from Kensington Palace to be romantic. I suppose some people find it gallant and charming, but in reality all it did was make things much more public and whip up intense press speculation, even in quarters where it didn’t exist previously.

        This whole mess has taken on a life of its own, but at the heart of it is that Harry should keep business and his personal life separate. And would have been much easier to do if he hadn’t released statements and played cutesy games with the press. It’s just pure gossip fodder now, and he comes off as rather stupid and immature, no matter how invested some folks are in seeing him as some romantic hero.

        Quite frankly, William and Kate did a much better job keeping their relationship out of the public eye for 8 years than Harry has managed for six months.

    • suze says:

      He may be beloved on this site, but the way he is conducting this relationship is bringing a lot of bad press down on Harry’s head. If he truly loves Markle and wants to introduce her as a member of the family, he is going about it in a very immature way.

      • Hashtagwhat says:

        This! I’m not a huge fan of Meghan simply because she seems to be loving the attention so much, but ok fine. But, Harry, what are YOU doing? If she’s the one, protect her not just with silly over the top statements, but protect her by playing the long game. I feel like I’m watching a teenage-y soap opera. And it concerns me that Meghan is 35 and going along with this, but Harry’s the one who’s ultimately responsible. He knows how this works.

  5. TyrantDestroyed says:

    This is getting messy…

  6. Skins says:

    At least he has his priorities in order #1-Booty #2 Stupid royal duties

    • swak says:

      How do you figure (unless you’re being sarcastic) that his royal duties are #2. He completed them and got back in time to do more royal duties today.

    • Silvia says:

      except its British people paying for his lifestyle so yeah I bloody well do expect his ‘silly royal duties’ to be his TOP priority ok?

      • Dyan says:

        But he did his “Silly Royal Duties” first and then went to see her. So obviously they are his top priority. The article made that clear.

        It really doesn’t matter what Harry does, if you are against the royal family, then fault will always be found.

      • DlistedGirl says:

        I think this person was joking.

  7. Right says:

    I love Harry, but I just hate the idea of monarchy and how their charity work and lavish life stile is funded by taxpayers. Monarchy should be a private institution now, a well functioning society shouldn’t allow expenses on the mentenance of appearances when there’s so many people and groups in need of money and structure. I know Harry stands for valuable causes but if he really wants to be fully respected and not held accountable for his choices, just go and find a real paying job!

    • Kiki says:

      That is why England’s Monarchy and many Europe’s Monarchy should be abolished. What is Monarchy’s job again?

  8. Hejhej says:

    It took a while but the Windsor is coming out in him.

  9. Cerys says:

    I don’t have a problem with him visiting his girlfriend. However, as a taxpayer, I do have a problem paying for his protection officers etc while he is there. its about time the Royals started to be more self-sufficient and less reliant on state handouts.

    • notasugarhere says:

      It is always a question, who pays for the RPOs in personal time. If they royals are on vacation or hanging out at Middleton Manor, Balmoral, or Sandringham, I have a problem with the taxpayers paying for it. The royals should pay the RPO travel expenses plus costs during those times IMO. But for now, the taxpayers pay for the RPOs all the time. Why are people only questioning this for Harry?

      If he paid for it, I don’t have a problem with it. I also don’t really care if the press were misled as it wasn’t about work. If they hadn’t been, his 15 days of work would have all about how he was going to see his girlfriend at the end. He gave them a good 15 days of public events, even did off-the-record pub events with the press.

      They weren’t lied to about work, like when W&K lied to get out of already-scheduled events to go sunbathing in France. He did his job then took a day off. Similar but different situations.

      W&K take vacations mid-tour and mostly get a pass from the press. They likely snuck off skiing after Australia instead of heading home. Camilla goes to spas before or after tours. They should all be held accountable for this, but I find the press harping on this *only* about Harry to be interesting.

      • The Original Mia says:

        Totally agree, nota. The press should be equally chuffed about The Cambridges’ mid-tour mini-breaks as much as Harry’s post-tour stopover. But they aren’t because Harry is the spare.

      • Soothie says:

        Lol NOTA you are really tying yourself in nots trying to find excuses for Harry. And saying William does it as well is funny. Aren’t W and K the devil? Suddenly it’s okay to emulate them? Lol ok

      • kaiko says:

        @Soothie–_LOL at the “tying yourself in ‘nots'” !!! love a good pun!
        However, I think nota is just trying to drive home the fact that Bill and Cathy pull this crap all the time, Harry doesn’t. He’s usually the “good prince” to many of us here at CB, and does so much in comparison to the Cambridges, nota probably just wants to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  10. Laurenlauren says:

    What are ya’lls thoughts on MM’s photo-ops this last week? Her at the grocery store (think that was staged?), her initial necklace being on display the next day, posting a photo with her dog wearing the union jack, etc? Girl is in it to win it!

    • Amy says:

      I was all for her, especially after seeing the videos of her excellent UN Women speech, but the pap photos of her with the necklace made me CRINGE. I don’t know what it was about those specific photos, as I fully recognise that the Union Jack dog photo does the same thing, but it seemed to cross the thirst line. Maybe because I’m a similar age to her and I would never wear jewellery with my partner’s initials, as it just seems so juvenile and/or attention seeking…then again, maybe it was a present from him and he’s the one I should be judging!

      • notasugarhere says:

        The sweater was a hand me down from her other dog, not purchased especially because of Harry. If your boyfriend gave you a gift, why not wear it? Is she required to only wear it in the privacy of her home?

      • HappyMom says:

        I’ve spent way too much time looking over her IG and her lifestyle website “Tig.” Yes-kind of showoffy and pretentious. However, she IS an actress-so that is part of it sometimes. That said-I think she would be an excellent addition to the royal family. She’d look beautiful, she already spends time with causes she cares about-I think she’d be WAY more interesting than Kate. New Years engagement!!!

      • kaiko says:

        @HappyMom—–I stopped reading at lifestyle website. Yuck. Though I guess he had to find someone that can handle the press attn, etc…MM seems to be A-OK with being on display.

    • ViXi says:

      She’s definitely milking it, for all it’s worth! I don’t really understand though. Is she trying to get a role for the movie James Bond? Her PR makes her seem a little too desperate and try hard, like she has something to prove. No woman ever has to do this – not even for a Prince.

    • perplexed says:

      Since she was in Toronto when the photo of the necklace was taken, I thought maybe somebody called the paps.

      I like her well enough, but I didn’t think those photos came out of nowhere. If she were in London or LA when the photos were taken, I wouldn’t necessarily have jumped to that conclusion.

      I don’t know how any of this is supposed to help her get into the royal family or get better parts though.

      • sarah says:

        She seems to be quite interested in PR. I wonder how much her love for Harry is fame and how much is love. Because really – neither Chelsey nor Cressida did this kind of PR. I get that Meghan is an actress, but still…it seems like this would piss off the royals, who value privacy and discretion more than anything. I think Kate is a lazy relatively useless royal, but I do give her credit in that she never did all of the PR stuff Meghan is doing. It just seems very show-offy. I had always thought Harry would have better taste. I’m disappointed in him, picking a show off actress.

      • notasugarhere says:

        The Middleton family had different paps and reporters on speed dial during the entire 10 year dating period. KM once called one of the DM reporters from the hotel she was staying in with William. They hired one of the tabloid hit men as their PR hack.

        Cressida had a mountain of PR assistance as well. It seems Chelsy was the only one who was unprotected by such things.

    • TJ says:

      It was an ‘M’ necklace. The ‘H’ people think they see is the clasp. I don’t see Meghan as the thirsty one. It’s the people – and the news companies – who fly into hysterics over dog jackets, banana pictures and slipped necklace clasps!

    • Mary Mary says:

      Both Harry and Meghan appear to be trolling the media. These two shallow entitled twits deserve one another. 🙂

      Had high hopes for Princess Diana’s two lads to carry on the legacy of her charitable causes.

      Harry has continued to work high profile for charities and that is so commendable, however; this is his blunder blurring his charitable work (public work) with his private life while perhaps causing the Canadian taxpayers? to pay for his 2 day’s Toronto apartment booty call visit.

  11. Timbuktu says:

    These people are so spoiled and entitled, it boggles my mind. They have more money than I can fathom, yet they act as your average penny-pincher. I mean, I’d totally try and go see my BF in Canada if I were in the Caribbean and lived in London, BUT I’m not royalty and $1000 is a lot of money for me, nor can I fly first class, so fatigue and jet-lag would be serious considerations.
    Piggy-backing on official duties is just tacky, even more so for royalty. My husband works for the government and I have tried to convince him to extend his business trips by just 1 week-end when he travels to cool places (say he does a conference Mon-Fri, then instead of leaving Sat morning, he’d leave Sunday evening – we’d pay for an extra hotel night, but the government would pay for his return ticket), and he always refuses steadfastly, saying that if we do that, he will have to pay for his return. If my mid-tier middle-class husband can afford to stick to the rules in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety, than so can Prince Harry: God knows he has enough freedom over his own schedule and money to make other arrangements to see his girlfriend.

    • Sixer says:

      EXACTLY.

    • graymatters says:

      But your husband’s argument is that he’d have to pay for his return — and possibly reimburse the company for that portion of the ticket they had already paid for, presumably. If Harry took care of all that…. I agree that transparency here is the issue.

      • Timbuktu says:

        Well, transparency is the issue in my husband’s case, too. Say he goes to NYC for a week, and instead of leaving Saturday, he leaves on Sunday. His ticket may cost him exactly the same $$$. But it may not. So, to avoid even the possibility of stiffing the government out of funds, he’d rather not risk it.

  12. PHAKSI says:

    Lack of foresight and self awareness from Harry and #PoorJason. However its Jason’s job to foresee these kinds of things. its about time Harry gets his own PR people

  13. Naroula says:

    Is there any proof of him being there? Or is the press pulling stuff from their a*** again?

    • HappyMom says:

      Yes-per Lainey Gossip (who lives in Toronto) there were the black SUVS in front of her place and RPOs.

      • ViXi says:

        Wait, how do we know She didn’t hire her own personal body guards for Harry’s protection? Now, that would have been a better headline. Woman hires protection for her prince. At least it softens the blow on Harry.

      • Nic919 says:

        When Harry has been in Toronto there have been RCMP personnel spotted, they would only do that for him and not Meghan. She wouldn’t get federal protection unless she was a part of the Royal Family.

  14. weegiewarrior says:

    He should pay for his own travel and should pay for his own protection when hes not on royal duties..like a poster here said – theyr not a couple of teenagers – he coudve flown from london when his tour ended. Very bad timing when thers a furore in th uk about th cost of th BP refurb – thoughtless to say th least.

    • notasugarhere says:

      The same holds true for all of them. Who pays for HM’s RPOs and all the security systems when she’s at Sandringham or Balmoral? IMO she should pay for that herself as those are private properties.

      As long as the RPOs are paid for for all of them on personal time, then Harry doesn’t get to be an exception and bashed for what is standard procedure. KM’s weekly/daily jaunts home to mummy dearest are covered by 8-12 RPOs and four SUVs and that is covered by taxpayers. But Harry can’t spent 24 hours with his girlfriend?

      He should pay for their travel expenses and costs of their upkeep (food) while he’s on vacation. They all should, but likely none do.

      • Emily says:

        Thanks for providing this information. As an American, I can’t help but think all the piling on of Harry and what he’s using public money for and what he’s using his money for seems over the top. If he’s allowed to use them without paying for them himself (right or wrong. Seems wrong to me but it also seems like it’s normal procedure)…why wouldn’t he?

  15. spidey says:

    Whoever is paying, I bet Harry would be quite happy to do without the RPOs following him everywhere.

    And we are still paying a fortune for T. Blair’s.

    • seesittellsit says:

      @Spidey – that’s because of how hated Blair is in Britain. They’re still calling him out as a war criminal over Iraq. He’d probably have been attacked in the street already without those RPOs.

  16. hey-ya says:

    …just hope she doesnt end up like koo…too sad…

  17. Ash says:

    that last sentence CB….. come on “booty call”..jeez he wanted to see his girlfriend and finished work committments and have spare time.

    he did what you should do as a human being who still have work commitments…. handle that ish… then find time to foster love on your own dime…. now regarding the bodyguard stuff IDK… maybe he can reimburse for the time, lord know he has the money….. this is but a small spec in the shenanigans that prince charles and william have done FOR NUMEROUS years…

  18. Adele Dazeem says:

    I know I’m a RAGING SKEPTIC….but again… why so much piling on Harry when you have the Cambridges and all their laziness? Feels like a planted (?) distraction.

  19. Erica_V says:

    I’d take paying for Harry’s flights to see his girlfriend over paying millions in dollars to Drumpf for the SS to stay in his hotel!!!

  20. Joannie says:

    I dont even think he was there. Press making this into something that isnt. No one saw him and the so called body guard seen outside is an actor from another show. Its ridiculous!

  21. LO says:

    What Harry did was stupid (blurring the lines between public and private). Buy he’s not exactly known for being smart is he?

    Also I’m loving this relationship. With all the crazy attention it’s like tiddlesbanging 2.0!

  22. suze says:

    This whole thing is just not very smart at all and messy as f*ck. Harry first whipped up international speculation by releasing a statement on Markle, and now is devaluing a lot of goodwill by mixing official trips and private business.

    If he really is serious about this woman becoming part of his life and part of the family business, playing cheeky games with the press is not the way to go about it.

    But he’s a Windsor, and Windsors are just messes.

    • notasugarhere says:

      He didn’t take personal time off during the trip to take vacation, as W&K do frequently. He went to visit his girlfriend after working 15 days straight, after his work was done. He didn’t lie to the press to get out of work as W&K do, but rather they were misled so as not to let the press make his 15 days of work all about his private life. Not the smartest plan, but not the same as what W&K pull right in front of everyone’s eyes.

      • Maria says:

        Just wondering. Would Harry even be allowed to live abroad,or is he stuck in Britain? I know there are rules for stuff like that, and if that were the case, she would have to move to London.

      • suze says:

        It doesn’t have to be the same as Will and Kate to be messy, though.

        If the public part of your relationship is just a big FU to the press, that is a problem.

  23. Boudica says:

    As I see it, there are two real problems: a) Poor Jason (or was it one of his staff?) lied to the press by stating, just before the plane left, that Harry was going straight back to England. I can understand why that might have been a conscious decision to do that. There has been such a fuss drummed up about Harry’s relationship with Megan M. that telling that lie could have been thought to be the lesser of two evils. But it was still a lie and the members of the public who are being asked to tolerate to tolerate this grossly inequitable arrangement where members of one family are allowed to live a life of enormous privilege and expect to be treated as special and better than the rest of us, merely because of accident of birth – especially the people who are footing this privileged family’s bills – don’t like to be lied to. A more savvy spokesman might have replied differently, or deflected the question completely. All the press/public need to know is that Harry would be back in time for his next assignment. It’s really nobody’s business what he does in his private time, but a bald-faced lie was told to keep the masses calm, and that is very poor form.

    The second real problem I see is that there is uncertainty over who paid the costs associated with the protection officers’ travel. I think that they would be on the clock no matter where Harry was, so it’s only the additional expenses related to the travel that are relevant. If Harry paid those, that’s fine, but that needs to be made clear, and it hasn’t.

    As for the fact of him detouring on the trip home, while it is desirable that business and pleasure are not combined, it is only a “desirable” thing. There will always be exceptions. It makes practical sense to me, when you are in the Caribbean anyway, to go to Toronto to visit your GF on the way home to London.

    • suze says:

      It’s more a matter of keeping the personal and the public separate. If he had wrapped up his trip, flown home, and Markle flown in to London for a few days, there would have still been a press frenzy, but they couldn’t have faulted Harry himself.

  24. Shan says:

    If you’re arguing “well but Will and Kate are allowed to get away with it,” that isn’t actually an argument for why Harry should be allowed to get away with it as well. Should Will and Kate get called on some of their dodgy practices? Yes. But so should Harry, as lovely as he is. He should keep work and personal trips separate, it’s not a difficult concept. Fly back to London, as booked, clock out, and then go nuts.

  25. RiddlesKitty says:

    He has tiny feet. That’s all I saw.