President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States won't pay for security detail for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who reportedly moved from Canada to Los Angeles.
The president tweeted that he's "a great friend and admirer" of Queen Elizabeth and the United Kingdom.
"It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada," President Trump tweeted. "Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!"
In a statement, a spokesperson for the couple said that they have "no plans to ask the U.S. government for security resources," and have arranged for private security detail, according to the Evening Standard.
In January, Prince Harry and Markle announced that they would step back from their Royal duties, meaning they would no longer receive public funds from the Sovereign Grant, the monarchy's annual funding mechanism.
The couple said they planned to split time between North America and the United Kingdom.
"This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity," they said in a statement on Instagram.
Prince Harry and Markle began visiting Canada in November 2019. But on Feb. 27, after the announcement of their departure, a spokesperson for the Canadian government said they would not be funding security detail for the couple.
"As the Duke and Duchess are currently recognized as Internationally Protected Persons, Canada has an obligation to provide security assistance on an as-needed basis," the statement to Canadian Broadcast Corporation said. "At the request of the Metropolitan Police, the RCMP has been providing assistance to the Met since the arrival of the Duke and Duchess to Canada intermittently since November 2019. The assistance will cease in the coming weeks, in keeping with their change in status."
On Friday, the British newspaper The Sun reported that the couple had moved to Los Angeles, where Markle was raised.