Prince Harry puts his children and Meghan Markle in 'immediate' danger with 'unwise' claim

Prince Harry puts his children and Meghan Markle in 'immediate' danger with 'unwise' claim

Prince Harry has placed his children in the crosshairs of extremists and will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life, say security experts.

They warned that, by boasting in his book Spare of killing 25 Taliban insurgents, the Duke of Sussex has elevated himself and his family into one of the world’s top security risks, alongside Russian president Vladimir Putin and former US leader Donald Trump. SAS hero Andy McNab said Harry’s comments were “unwise”, adding “as we have seen for decades, extremists don’t care how they get to targets as long as they do
As a result, the Duke will face a bill of £5.5million a year for round-the-clock protection needed to keep him, wife Meghan, 41 and children Archie, three and Lilibet, 19 months, safe.
His comments about his kill tally as a combat helicopter pilot in Afghanistan have provoked outrage across the Middle East, sparking online death threats against him and other royals.

Harry, 38, writes in his bombshell memoir that killing 25 Taliban fighters was like “chess pieces taken off the board”.

The Duke, who served two tours, claimed he did not see the enemy and did not feel pride or shame over the deaths.

Mr McNab, a former SAS soldier turned author whose identity since going undercover in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, said Harry was already a “high-value target” for his tours of duty in Afghanistan.

The 63-year-old Bravo Two Zero writer added boasting about his Taliban kills will not be forgotten by extremists – as was seen with the stabbing of Satanic Verses author Sir Salman Rushdie, 75, in New York last summer.

That came 34 years after an Iranian fatwa calling for his death.

Mr McNab said: “They have long memories and they obviously have people in the US. Harry has made himself more of a target.a
“The threats against him will have to be taken seriously everywhere now.”
The Prince’s comments also angered military chiefs, with a general who commanded troops in Afghanistan branding them “ghoulish and completely unnecessary”. Col Richard Kemp accused Harry of “stabbing his fellow comrades in the back”.

He said: “Harry’s comments imply the Army conditions soldiers to see chess pieces to be taken out.

“The reality is that the Army does not train soldiers to perceive anyone on the battlefield as chess pieces. And it is a stab in the back to those who fought alongside him to say it.”

And Admiral Lord West, the former head of the Navy, warned Harry has jeopardised security at September’s Invictus Games. He told the Sunday Mirror: “The Games is very much labelled to him and so I would have thought the threat level there will definitely be higher.

“There will be serious security issues because of what he said.”

Security arrangements for the Sussexes could come into sharp focus when they next visit the UK, as the Duke is fighting a legal battle with the Home Office for his family to be granted automatic police protection.

Chris Phillips, a former Metropolitan Police chief inspector in charge of organising security for high-profile events, said: “Harry’s comments have ensured his family will require 24/7 security for the rest of his life and beyond because he has also placed a target firmly on the back of his children.

“We know Islamic extremists can be patient.”

Top US security expert Kent Moyer agreed, saying Harry has condemned his wife and children to a “lifetime of looking over their shoulders in fear”. The boss of the Beverly Hills-based World Protection Group said the Duke’s comments put his family in “immediate” danger at their five-acre mansion in Montecito, California. Mr Moyer said: “There are highly motivated people who will bide their time to launch an attack.”