Confirmed reports show that one of the latest official appearances of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as senior royals, their visit to Africa in September 2019, cost the British public over £240,000 or $311,689.
Even though the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited several countries during their time in Africa, such as South Africa, Botswana, Angola, and Malawi; many of the British taxpayers started complaining that the price of their trip was so high.
At the time, a lot of citizens of the United Kingdom were agitated by the fact that Meghan gave a surprising interview, in which she hinted that the British royal family was too cold towards her, as neither of them ever showed interest if she “was OK.”
According to some, the African trip was a justifiable expense because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex not only participated in more than 20 official engagements but also helped in “bringing attention to several worthwhile causes, in particular, raising awareness of the work and the legacy of the Halo Trust [an anti-landmine charity championed by Princess Diana].”
Meanwhile, Prince Charles‘s traveling expenses were also relatively high, as the private plane that took him to the funeral of the late Sultan of Oman in January reportedly cost £210,345 or $273,070.
The third expensive trip that members of the British royal family made was the visitation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Pakistan, which was evaluated at £117,116 or $152,040.
However, many British taxpayers also complained that another £15,848 or $20,573 was spent so the infamous Duke of York, Prince Andrew, could be transported via a private plane to the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Ireland in July.
Royal fans are angry at the power couple wasted taxpayers’ money for the most expensive royal trip of 2019, and months later, they stepped down from their roles and fled England.
A social media user angrily reacted and called the trip a waste of money and a photo op. The royal fan explained:
“The fake walk through the landmine trail, posted with remade signs. Harry is his new bomb suit, total photo op. Those mines have been gone for over 20 years. Why didn’t he just walk through there to show what Diana had done? Total photo op.”
This person brought an interesting point of view on the topic: “Sad that they couldn’t shine light on people of that country rather than crying about the media and their deplorable lives! Shame on Harry and Meghan!”
This royal backer lashed out at Harry and his spouse by saying: “Their decision to go ahead with this expensive trip knowing in advance they were going to abandon their duties is exactly why they are held in such contempt by so many. It’s smacks of arrogance and hubris to the tune of £250K ($324K).”
If this becomes a PR nightmare for Harry and Meghan, they might reimburse the trip.
