A former royal protection officer shared his advice for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new security team

• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex took a step back from the British press when they resigned from the royal family earlier this year.
• However, after paparazzi photos of the couple in LA and reports of drones flying above their Beverly Hills residence, it's clear Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's privacy — and safety — are at risk.
• The couple are reportedly using Gavin De Becker and Associated, a private LA-based security firm that charges up to $8,800 per day, according to the Daily Mail.
• Insider spoke to former royal protection officer Simon Morgan, who shared his advice for the Sussexes' new security team.

There aren't many people who can understand the pressure Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new security team must be facing right now.

With reports of drones flying low above their Beverly Hills residence — and the paparazzi snapping photos of the couple out in LA — the Sussexes are experiencing levels of intrusion that they sought to leave behind in the UK.

Former royal protection officer Simon Morgan, however, knows exactly what's at stake for the couple.

Morgan worked for the royal family from 2007 until 2013, before becoming the Director of Operations and Training at the private security firm Trojan Consultancy.

He has witnessed first-hand the threats that royals face on a daily basis — and he spoke to Insider about what Harry and Markle's new security team can do to minimize the risks.

Markle and Harry are reportedly using an $8,000-a-day LA security firm

Now that the Sussexes no longer have access to royal protection officers, they are reportedly using the private security firm, Gavin De Becker and Associated.

The firm charges up to $8,800 (£7,000) per day, and it's most notable clients include Jeff Bezos and Tom Hanks, according to the Daily Mail.

It's been reported that the security firm already came with Tyler Perry's Beverly Ridge Estate property that the couple are currently staying in. However, their representatives haven't commented on whether this is the case.

"Gavin De Becker is an LA-based firm, well known for occupying A-listers," Morgan told Insider.

"They will operate slightly differently from what the Sussexes would have been previously used to. They aren't operating on an official level, and therefore they won't have all of the assistance you would usually get when protecting senior members of the royal family.

"Their new team will be picking things up as they go along. It's a massive change, without a doubt. And certainly from the duke's perspective, many of those royal protection officers were with him for many years," he added.

"They have a great understanding for him as a person, his position, and all of his circles, which has effectively gone overnight.

"It's a steep learning curve, both for the protection team and the principals themselves — they will have to get used to how a different protection package works, and what can be achieved on their behalf," he said.

'You can't have a bad day in the office. You have to get it right every day — the bad guy only needs to get it right once'

Harry and Markle's current residence is located in an exclusive gated community, and their neighbors reportedly include the likes of Adele and Elton John.

However, Morgan said their new celebrity status could ultimately be more of a hindrance than a help to the couple's security team.

He explained: "When the Sussexes made the decision to move to LA earlier this year, I did say at the time that their step back does have the potential to be more of a draw for people to find out what they are doing."

He added that their security team "could easily forget the high-profile threat on their principal" because of the focus on the media.

"You can't just be obsessed with the 'I don't want someone to take my photograph' because there are other threats out there. And if you only fixate on that, you will take your eye off the ball in regards to physical threats.

"When you're working with members of the royal family, you wear so many hats. You can't have a bad day in the office. You have to get it right every day — the bad guy only needs to get it right once," he said.

In a statement addressing Meghan Markle's lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday last year, Harry admitted that his "deepest fear is history repeating itself."

"I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces," he said, referencing Princess Diana's tragic death caused by a car accident after the royal's vehicle was chased by paparazzi in Paris.

There's no doubt that the media intrusion was the couple's greatest obstacle when they were working royals. This has only been emphasized with their recent actions, including their step back from the royal rota, a circulating system that allows members of the British press to attend and report on the royal family's engagements.

They also cut off contact with four British tabloids — The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, and The Daily Express — saying that they no longer want to "offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion."

"It's all well and good driving fast and pushing people away and seeking that confrontation to protect your principal, but that only has a very short shelf life before something catastrophic goes wrong," Morgan said.

"Whether someone gets hurt or some form of legal action or that brand — we talk about the Sussexes as a brand — becomes damaged in trying to maintain privacy."

The Sussexes could adopt Kate Middleton's strategy in dealing with the press

With that being said, it's worth noting that dealing with the press is a major part of a royal protection officer's role. Morgan said Harry and Markle's new team could strike up an agreement with the LA-based press to ensure the couple's privacy.

It wouldn't be the first time a royal has done so.

"In regards to the royal family, they will give a little bit, and the media will give a little bit, therefore they can come to a satisfactory outcome, certainly in regards to access," Morgan said.

"Obviously the Cambridges are very good at that, with regards to the duchess' pictures that she puts into the press. So the press ultimately don't follow them around looking for those types of pictures. It's a two-way scenario."

Kate Middleton has a mostly positive relationship with the British press. It's tradition for the duchess to provide official photographs — taken by herself — of her children to mark their birthdays.

Most recently, she shared an adorable photo shoot of Prince Louis playing with paint.

She also uses her Instagram account, @kensingtonroyal, to share behind-the-scenes and previously unseen photos from royal engagements, giving fans and the press that extra glimpse into her life as a royal.

In return, Middleton is rarely targeted by the paparazzi, and the majority of photos of her that exist in the press are ones that are taken during royal engagements or that have already been approved by Kensington Palace.

One year on from The Duchess of Cambridge's #BackToNature Garden, the Chelsea Flower Show is going digital! Visit @The_RHS to join the virtual #ChelseaFlowerShow for practical gardening advice from world-leading designers and experts all from the comfort of your own home. The Duchess’s Back to Nature garden in 2019 aimed to highlight the physical and mental health benefits of the natural world and inspire children, families, and communities to enjoy the great outdoors.

A post shared by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@kensingtonroyal) on May 19, 2020 at 11:39pm PDTMay 19, 2020 at 11:39pm PDT

That begs the question of whether Harry and Markle could strike up the same kind of deal, even though they are dealing with a completely different set of press in LA.

"Potentially, you know," Morgan said. "There's a great saying, 'If you're gonna play the game, know the rules.'

"Certainly they could create something that gives a two-way street relation to access. How the protection team liaises with the media and paparazzi is really important, it's something that we did on a day to day basis as royal protection.

"We knew the people in the press that we needed to go and speak to, and it was always a process of negotiation, and that comes from vastly experienced police protection."

It's too soon to say whether Harry and Markle plan on establishing a new relationship with the press.

After all, the Queen's refusal to allow them to name their brand "Sussex Royal" caused a social media blackout for the couple — who have since only shared one video of Archie, to mark his first birthday in May.

The couple also alerted the media that they had video called the Queen to wish her a happy birthday in April. Nonetheless, no video footage or photographs were released of the special moment.

"You understand the value of communication, which leads to negotiation and ownership — which ultimately leads to compromise," Morgan said.

And if that compromise doesn't happen? Well, according to Morgan, "the gloves are off."

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