Exclusives | Aug 17, 2020 01:00 PM EDT

Royal Headaches: 3 Times Prince Harry and Meghan Markle RECKLESSLY Used Taxpayers' Money

By Alexandria Kim

Before their bombshell departure, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had been subject to issues concerning their impulsive use of U.K. taxpayers' money.

The absurd amount of expenses of the royal couple greatly contributed to the royal family's annual expenditures. The Buckingham Palace's documents in 2019 revealed that the Royal Household accepted an additional $25.6 million in taxpayers' money compared to previous years.

They did not mention it during their exit, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's plan on making themselves financially independent from the royal family could truly be of help to lessen it.

However, even after they left the monarchy, they got called out for still leaching millions of dollars from the taxpayers' funds.

With that said, we take a look at the three instances they spent the taxpayers' money recklessly.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Controversial Frogmore Cottage

As they agreed on, Megxit would prevent Prince Harry and Meghan from using several state funding that they enjoyed before.

Aside from that, their exit pushed them to return the massive funds they used to renovate their Frogmore Cottage home. Queen Elizabeth II urged them to pay back the multi-million expenses as part of the agreement for them to live a financially independent life.

According to BBC, they irresponsibly used $2.8 million in taxpayers' funds just to restore a single royal residence.

But Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, defended the royal couple and explained: "The property had not been the subject of work for some years and had already been earmarked for renovation in line with our responsibility to maintain the condition of the occupied royal palaces estate."

In May 2020, the royal couple reportedly started paying $21,780 per month for the said debt.

Prince Charles Supporting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's L.A. Life?

Earlier this August, Republic's CEO Graham Smith claimed that the U.K. is still funding the two even after their relocation to America. He revealed that through Prince Charles, the royal couple receives money that "they do not deserve anymore."

"Prince Charles funds are from the Duchy of Cornwall, the Duchy of Cornwall belongs to us. We are giving him more than £20 million a year from the Duchy of Cornwall profits," Smith said.

Since the country is not charging the Prince of Wales' Duchy of Cornwall with corporation tax, the "extra" funds are reportedly being used to support the lavish lifestyle and day-to-day expenses of the Sussexes outside the monarchy.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Expensive Security Team

It is not clear whether the royal couple hired an "exclusive A-list security team" to safeguard them in Santa Barbara. However, they still used the taxpayers' money despite having already stepped down as senior royals.

During their stay at Tyler Perry's mansion in Los Angeles, Prince Harry and Meghan reported to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) the drones flying as low as 20 feet over their home over the past weeks.

Because of this, they hired a security team from the firm being used by a slew of A-listers. The team has also been handpicked by the former chief of security for President Ronald Reagan.

They started to cash out $8,600 every day -- which royal fans believed came from Prince Charles, as well -- to protect their family from unimaginable levels of trespassing and security issues.

Assuming that they still have the said security team to protect them, they will need $3.1 million per year to cover the expenses. Considering they do not have any big projects at the moment, they might get that amount from the taxpayers again since they are still not financially independent.