Ex-royals not to ask US for security tab

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have no plans to ask the US government for help with security costs, the couple said in a statement on Sunday in response to a tweet from President Donald Trump that the United States would not pay for their protection.

In January, the couple said they would step away from their royal duties and according to media reports, recently relocated to Los Angeles. Earlier on Sunday, Trump tweeted: "Now they have left Canada for the US however, the US will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!"

A spokeswoman for the couple said later in a statement: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no plans to ask the US government for security resources. Privately funded security arrangements have been made."

The duchess, Meghan Markle, who married Prince Harry, the grandson of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, in 2018, criticized Trump during his 2016 election campaign as misogynistic and divisive.

In 2019, Trump, on being told of Meghan's criticism, said: "I didn't know that. What can I say? I didn't know that she was nasty." But he also wished her well in her new life as a British royal.

The couple stunned the royal family in early January with an announcement that they would be stepping down from their roles as senior royals.