{"id":555771,"date":"2026-03-23T17:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/555771\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T17:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:57:10","slug":"australians-launch-petition-to-block-security-funding-for-meghan-markle-and-prince-harrys-trip-intouch-weekly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/555771\/","title":{"rendered":"Australians Launch Petition to Block Security Funding for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry\u2019s Trip \u2013 InTouch Weekly"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" MEGA<\/p>\n

Australians are pushing back on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry\u2019s reported unofficial visit to the continent<\/a> next month with a petition to block taxpayer-funded security.<\/p>\n

In a new petition started on Change.org<\/a>, Australians are asking that their tax money not be used toward a government-granted motorcade and security detail for the Sussexes during their unofficial tour.<\/p>\n

The petition, which has almost 200 signatures as of publication, claimed that Australian taxpayers are \u201cdealing with economic burdens\u201d of their own and that \u201csuch privileges\u201d for Meghan, 44, and Harry, 41, \u201cappear to be a misuse of public funds and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRoyal visits traditionally come with increased security and ceremonial events, but it is imperative to question the necessity of such elevated treatment for individuals who have officially stepped down from their royal duties,\u201d the petition continued. \u201cMeghan Markle and Prince Harry, while globally recognized, no longer represent the British monarchy in an official capacity and, therefore, should not be entitled to taxpayer-funded royal privileges during their personal travels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meghan and Harry officially stepped back from their duties as senior members of the royal family in January 2020, just two months before they moved from the United Kingdom to the U.S.<\/p>\n

\"\" MEGA<\/p>\n

As In Touch previously reported<\/a>, Harry and Meghan allegedly came under fire for a \u201cquasi royal\u201d trip to Colombia in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no secret Prince William and King Charles take issue with them using their titles to advance their personal brand,\u201d a source told In Touch at the time. \u201cBut the Duke and Duchess are defiant and clearly don\u2019t care what anyone thinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

More recently, they ruffled some feathers with their trip to Amman, Jordan<\/a>, late last month.<\/p>\n

A source told journalist Rob Shuter\u2019s Naughty But Nice<\/a> Substack that \u201cthe palace was livid\u201d with the couple\u2019s trip because it seemed like an official royal tour, which it was not.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like a full-scale royal tour without the permission slip,\u201d the source explained at the time.<\/p>\n

The royal family allegedly thought the timing of the trip was in poor taste as it came just days after Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office tied to allegations he shared confidential trade documents during his time as a British envoy.<\/p>\n

The arrest centers on his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>, who died in 2019. Andrew, however, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MEGA Australians are pushing back on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry\u2019s reported unofficial visit to the continent next…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[49,48,361,75,13647],"class_list":["post-555771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-royals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}