Harry and Meghan's documentary is putting the royal family at risk, the former head of royal protection has warned. Photo / AP
Harry and Meghan's documentary is putting the royal family at risk, the former head of royal protection has warned. Photo / AP
Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary is putting the royal family at risk from extremists, the former head of royalty protection has warned.
Security expert Dai Davies, a former divisional commander in the Metropolitan Police who guarded Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the family, said the couple had raised a “credible threat” by attacking their relatives on race grounds.
“There’s a small minority that think Meghan walks on water,” he said. “I’ve always said there’s a greater risk from fixated individuals than there is from terrorists.
“Because their narrative has been attached to race to the extent it has, you could have those at the extreme end of the taking-knee variety having a go at members of the royal family.
“I really think it could create a small minority who might. I think it’s a credible threat and I think it should be taken very seriously, especially now the documentary has come out.”
Referring to the King, the former senior policeman added: “Twice now Charles has had eggs thrown at him.
“I was surprised the first time at the slowness of the reaction. I think it’s a real possibility that they do face these sorts of incidents especially as the King and Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales are in such close contact with the public.”
His comments came as George R Franks, former US policeman and an associate professor at Stephen F Austin University in Texas, raised concerns that “the destructive and damaging comments and allegations made by Harry and Meghan Markle are placing the life and safety of members of the royal family in jeopardy.”
He said: “I have been studying their increasingly tenacious attack on the character of the royals and the institution of the monarchy for the past several months with a growing concern for the safety of the members of the ‘working royals’, but also for the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
“I have experience with cases where individuals have committed or attempted to commit violent crimes in support of the cause of another towards whom they have become enamoured and protective.
“All we need is one individual becoming obsessed with creating a situation that would place Harry as the heir apparent, and we could have a disastrous outcome.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a scene in their kitchen from Harry & Meghan. Photo / Netflix
He cited the example of the attempted assassination of former US president Ronald Reagan by John Hinkley, who was motivated by his belief that his act would impress American actress Jodi Foster, with whom he was obsessed.
In the first volume of the six-part series, both Harry and Meghan complain that they were not “protected” enough, despite being guarded around the clock by taxpayer-funded officers from the Metropolitan Police’s SO14 division during their entire time in the Royal family. Bodyguards operate in plain clothes and are routinely armed with 9mm Glock 17 pistols.
The Duke also said members of his family questioned why Meghan needed more protection from the media than their wives had been given, and that they failed to grasp the “race element”.
He also spoke of the royal family’s “huge level of unconscious bias”, which he described as “no-one’s fault” but essential to “make right”, adding: “In this family, sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution.”
Writer Afua Hirsch, who has been openly critical of the monarchy in the past, referred to the Commonwealth in the programme as “Empire 2.0″, accusing Britain of having “extracted wealth” from countries that remain inter-generationally poor.
Royal sources condemned the comments as “deeply offensive” to Queen Elizabeth II’s legacy.
Over the years, royalty protection officers have been involved in several high-profile incidents.
In January 1994, when Prince Charles was giving a speech in Sydney, protester David Kang rushed the stage and fired two blank rounds from a starter’s pistol.
Superintendent Colin Trimming, the senior bodyguard, received a gallantry medal for his cool and quick thinking during the incident.
In June 1981, the late Queen was shot at as she rode down The Mall during the Trooping the Colour ceremony.
Marcus Sarjeant fired six blanks from the crowd before he was arrested at the scene and charged under the Treason Act of 1842.
He later told prosecutors he was inspired by the assassination of John Lennon, and the assassination attempts on Reagan and Pope John Paul II.
