One man's romantic gesture is another's policy-breaking rebellion.
After news spread that Prince Harry scheduled an impromptu detour to visit his girlfriend Meghan Markle in Toronto on his way home from his Caribbean charity trip, the reactions have been rolling in. And the Brits are not too happy.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the source of the nation's dissatisfaction with Harry is his treatment of their tax dollars. Since 2004, there has been a policy in place banning politicians and royals from combining personal and business trips at the expense of taxpayers' money. According to a statement from the Royal Household at the time, "Members of the Royal family are entitled to grant-in-aid for official travel, as are their staff and, where capacity permits, other officials. They meet their own costs, however, for private travel. In order to avoid confusion, combining private and public engagements in the same trip is actively discouraged."
But not only did Harry piss off the British public with his trip; he also angered a bevy of journalists, dedicated to reporting on the royal family. According to The Daily Beast, many veteran reporters were there at the airport when Harry was boarding the plane and asked if he was going straight back to England (where he had an engagement the next day, which he then missed to be with Markle) and his aide said yes he was. So imagine their surprise and frustration when his plane landed in Toronto instead of London.
Based on Harry's decisions, which aren't going over well with his people, The Daily Beast theorizes that there is an engagement in the near future, as only a potential marriage could merit this type of disregard for the royal rules.
Their relationship is going to make the best Lifetime movie.
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