In an interview done with LADbible TV, Paul Page – a former Royal Protection Officer – confirmed that things would change for the Royals after Queen’s death. Paul’s interview took place two months before Queen Elizabeth’s death and talked about the changes that may follow.
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Slimmed down security
Talking about his role as a Royal Protection Officer, Paul emphasised that it’s ‘very, very difficult’ to get inside the palace. Especially after the infamous Michael Fagan incident – the man who broke into the palace and sat on the Queen’s bed – security measures have gone crazily up and high at the palace. He said:
There’s a lot more cameras, beams, and pressure pads. Especially now, I haven’t been there for a long time, but I can imagine the upgrade is quite substantial.
Considering how much all of this costs the government and the public, Paul believes that now that the Queen has passed away, the government would look at slimming down the security because of ‘cost implications.’ He added:
Potentially, you’d probably get Charles, Camilla, William and his wife as the four main Royals. With their children obviously.
And I think the rest will…their security may well be slimmed down.
Why the slimming down?
Paul mentioned how Buckingham Palace has 3 to 4 shifts a day of protection officers protecting the Queen. Each shift had around 30 officers – which was more or less the same for other Royal residences. While it was required, it resulted in a ‘very, very high’ security bill and that’s why slimming down security will be a prospect that the government will potentially look into. He argued:
There’s questions all over the place about who’s paying for what. But I certainly noticed the security bill was very, very high, and they’ll be looking to slim that down once the Queen passes away.
Emphasising how it has already been happening to Prince Harry, Paul also added that cutting off security for non-main Royals may take place in the future. He said:
They already did it with Harry. They cut off his security. Initially, when he left they had Met officers living in Canada with him. And I think that was stopped.
Source Used
LADbible TV’s interview: Royal Security Officer On Life Inside The Royal Family | Minutes With | @LADbible TV