Shelagh Fogarty 1pm - 4pm
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's US home 'targeted by intruders twice in 12 days'
25 July 2022, 06:14
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's home in the United States has reportedly been targeted by intruders twice in the space of 12 days.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The royal couple and their two children, Archie, three, and one-year-old Lilibet, were believed to be at their Montecito mansion when police were alerted to two intruder scares.
The first trespassing incident allegedly happened at the couple's £11million home on May 19, their fourth wedding anniversary.
The Sun reports that police responded to reports of a second intruder on May 31, just hours before they flew to the UK to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Both calls in May were logged as “trespasser”, “property crimes” and “suspicious circumstances”, the newspaper said.
Santa Barbara Police records show there have been six security alert calls to their US home in the past 14 months.
Read more: 'Only the start': Holiday hell at Folkestone amid warnings of more summer gridlock
Read more: Declan Donnelly announces birth of son weeks after death of presenter's older brother
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at service to celebrate Queen's Platinum Jubilee
The royal couple have employed ex-President Barack Obama’s former bodyguard Christopher Sanchez and Michael Jackson’s former security chief Alberto Alvarez to protect their residence.
The couple, who stepped down as working royals in January 2020, have renewed the lease on their home in the UK, at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
Despite quitting their royal duties and moving to California in 2020 their UK home receives 24-hour police protection, as it inside the Queen's Windsor estate.
Harry recently won permission to sue the Home Office over his security arrangements, having begun a legal challenge in February after it refused to allow him to pay for his own protection when visiting the UK.
Royal journalist reacts to latest Prince Harry security row
The ruling at the High Court means he will now be able to take the case for a judicial review after Harry and his team had argued that his US-based entourage do not have sufficient jurisdiction in Britain to be able to protect him properly.
Royal expert Angela Levin told The Sun: “Maybe Harry should concentrate more on the security in California rather than making complaints about his security in Britain.
“After two intruder alerts in 12 days, surely he should be making the protection of his family in the US his priority.”
Previous incidents at the Sussexes' property this year include an alarm being “mistakenly tripped” on New Year's Day and a “miscellaneous dispatch” on June 8.
The incidents are not the first at the Sussexes’ home.
On Christmas Eve 2020 a man allegedly trespassed and returned on Boxing Day before being arrested.