EXCLUSIVE Harry and Meghan are forced to pay for their own team of bodyguards

Prince Harry and Meghan have been forced to pay for their own team of private security guards after German authorities classed their trip as a ‘private event’.

The Sussexes are set to spend Tuesday in Düsseldorf where they will enjoy a cruise down the Rhine, after touring Manchester today in what was their first visit to UK soil since the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June. 

But police in Düsseldorf told the pair they must pay for their own security service, and officers will only provide small-scale protective measures, mostly for crowd control purposes.

Roadblocks will be put in place at busy road junctions to allow their convoy of cars to speed from the airport to the city centre rather than be caught in traffic queues.

Bodyguards who accompanied the couple to Manchester today will be by their side in Germany along with a small team of local security staff.

Prince Harry has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with the UK Home Office after it previously refused to provide police protection for the couple to return to the country after they stepped back from royal duties and moved to California.

The Duke of Sussex, 37, has been taking legal action against the department after being told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protective security when visiting from the US.

Police will be responsible for controlling the entry of traffic close to the historic town hall where they meet local dignitaries and later at the sports stadium where next year’s sports event will be held.

Harry and Meghan could come into contact with members of the public on a short cruise they will take down the Rhine.

It is here that local security guards will be on duty to make sure no one gets too close to the couple.

Harry and Meghan are expected to take a 30-minute cruise along the Rhine.

It will also be the only real opportunity locals will get the chance to see the couple as the events at the town hall and stadium are by invitation only.

With less than 24 hours before Harry and Meghan arrive there were no security measures visible in the market square where they will enter the town hall.

The only sign of activity was a window cleaner polishing the ground floor windows of the building.

Unlike in Manchester, there was no ‘ring of steel’ being prepared for the visit.

Most locals sitting at cafes around the market square were unaware that the couple were even due to visit.

Police sources have made it clear Prince Harry was coming to Düsseldorf as a ‘private person’.

‘This is something he has initiated,’ said the source.

The source added: ‘The policing will be very low key. He is here as a private individual but he is a guest of the city and we want to make sure he feels safe.

‘There is no restriction on use of private bodyguards’

In the Netherlands earlier this year at the Invictus Games, a team of five bodyguards flew in from the US and were led by former Secret Service agent Christopher Sanchez.

He was from Houston, Texas, and part of the Touchstone Global company that provides security at major sporting events.

A spokesman for the company refused to comment on the visit to Germany.

Meghan has also been seen with Alberto Alvarez as her personal bodyguard.

He formerly worked as head of security for the late ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson.

The couple fly into Düsseldorf late morning on Tuesday and will be driven to the town hall to be greeted by the city’s Mayor Stephan Keller.

Harry will sign the city’s Golden Book, a leather-bound volume where all visiting VIPs sign their name.

He will attend a lunch reception before travelling to the Merkur-Spiel arena where They will meet competitors taking part in next September games as well as the organisers of the event.

Harry will make a speech celebrating the games and its power to heal those affected by combat.

A press conference will be held but Harry is not expected to answer any questions.

It is believed the pair will fly back to London in the evening rather than stay in Germany.

They have a ‘free day’ on Wednesday before attending the WellChild event in London where Harry will make a speech.

After stepping back from royal duties, it was decided that the prince should be taken off the list for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), whose members receive automatic security funded by the taxpayer.

In July, Harry won the right to bring a High Court challenge against the Home Office over his security arrangements in the UK.

A High Court judge said Harry had an ‘arguable’ case on four of the five grounds on which he brought his claim, and that his lawyers will be able to make his arguments at a judicial review of the Home Office decision.

After his official role ended and he became ‘a privately funded member of the Royal Family with permission to earn his own income and pursue his own charitable interests’, Ravec withdrew guaranteed police support.

Ravec chairman Sir Richard said in a letter to the Queen’s private secretary that while the committee would ‘continue to monitor the security of the Sussex family’, the ‘existing provision by the Metropolitan Police will be withdrawn… there is no basis for publicly funded security support’.

Harry said he only discovered the extent of the change when he made one of his rare visits to England in June 2021, and was unhappy with arrangements made.

The Home Office maintains Ravec was entitled to reach the decision that his security arrangements will be considered on a ‘case by case’ basis.