The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been given "VVIP status” by Dutch police ahead of their visit to the Netherlands.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex given VVIP status by Dutch police
According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, the royal couple will be joined by a private security team and have been told there is “no credible threat” to their safety during their visit to The Hague for Prince Harry's Invictus Games, which kicks off with the opening ceremony on Saturday (16.04.22).
A source claimed that there will be a “high-level multi-agency protection programme” in place for the whole trip.
They've even gone as far as to put “detailed extraction processes” on stand-by, should there be a “personal or larger scale terror attack”.
And it's claimed the couple - who are parents to Archie, two, and Lilibet, 10 months - underwent “hostile environment” training with the security team.
The source said: “Harry and Meghan have received absolute top assurances that there is no credible threat to their safety.
“This is the view of the Dutch authorities and other agencies across the continent.
“In any case, as they are attending a high profile event in the Netherlands both the Duke and Duchess have been classed as VVIPs for the duration of their stay and overall responsibility for their safety at all times while in the Netherlands will be with the Dutch authorities.”
While they have been offered “high-level assurances their protection is a priority”, the security team are not allowed to be armed in Holland.
Harry, 37, is currently taking legal action against the Home Office as he and his 40-year-old wife - who was formerly known as Meghan Markle before marrying into the British royal family in 2018 - are no longer given armed police protection when he's in the UK and has been told he cannot pay for that himself.
But Richard Griffin, who was a royal protection officer for the Duke of Edinburgh - who died last April aged 99 - for 14 years insisted security concerns were a "pathetic excuse" for Harry not to join the rest of his family at his late grandfather's memorial service last month.
He said: "Prince Philip was their grandfather so William has obviously had a great training from him and is going to learn examples from him. I just hope Harry gets some of these things in his mind.
"It [Harry not being here] was a big disappointment for everybody. People were talking about it. Certainly around where I was people were saying he should have been here.
'"All this nonsense about how he couldn’t get protection, as far as I’m concerned that was a pathetic excuse. He should’ve been here to honour his grandfather.
"At the end of the day, if he was that worried about security, he could’ve stuck with his brother and father who have got wonderful security and he would have been more than safe."
Tagged in Prince Harry Prince Philip Meghan Markle