Prince Harry’s ‘best friend’: The hired security guard who has had lonely royal’s back for more than a decade – including on THAT trip to Las Vegas and Meghan Markle’s star-studded New York baby shower

When Prince Harry stepped down from royal duties in 2020, he gave up much in exchange for personal freedom: the comfortable amenities of Frogmore Cottage, financial security and the reassurance of the Met Police’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command.

According to reports, he may have given up something else when he and Meghan Markle fled to sunny Montecito: a close circle of friends.

The Duke of Sussex is reportedly feeling increasingly lonely in California and is relying on a former royal security officer, who he now pays thousands of pounds a day for security, as his “best friend”.

David Langdown worked as a security guard at the Met for 16 years and was assigned to Harry for about a decade. He accompanied Harry on his infamous trip to Las Vegas, where he had a pool party surrounded by bikini-clad women.

But even as the Duke’s wild side has been tempered by age, ‘Langers’, as he is known, has been a constant presence at his and Meghan’s side.

And after he retired from the government, he continued to work for the Duke and became one of his closest confidants.

Harry is said to be feeling lonely across the Atlantic, with Meghan’s Hollywood friends expected to feature heavily on the guest list for his 40th birthday party.

It is not known whether Langdown will be among those in attendance, or whether he will accompany the Duke on the holiday he is said to be taking with friends to mark the end of his fourth decade on this planet.

But the former Met officer, who is believed to have started out as a police officer in Stoke Newington, north London, is said to be a regular visitor to Los Angeles as part of his role as US police operations director for private security firm Broadstone Risks.

He is depicted with Harry at many key moments in his life, both in his public role and in his role as a mercenary.

‘Langers’ was there when Harry left a Soho nightclub in 2011. He also accompanied the duke on the infamous trip to Las Vegas, where Harry was photographed completely naked after a game of strip pool.

Mr Langdown was also seen with Meghan after she and Harry started dating. He accompanied the couple on their first royal tour to Northern Ireland in March 2018, before they married two months later.

He stood behind Meghan when she appeared at a baby shower in New York a year later, visibly pregnant with little Archie.

Mr Langdown is believed to have retired from the Met in the summer of 2022, months after being awarded the Royal Victorian Medal by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the Royal Family.

Months later, he was in the front seat of a Range Rover, ferrying Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage. He had started work at Broadstone, a company set up by former Met agent Peter Miles.

It is said to have protected the likes of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, as well as pop star Ariana Grande.

The company describes Mr Langdown as having a career ‘distinguished by great dedication and unrivalled expertise’, during which time he has protected Queen Elizabeth II, the then Prince Charles and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, now the Prince and Princess of Wales.

“David brings his extensive experience and insights to Broadstone Risks in 2022 and will now make a significant contribution to the firm’s international operations,” the website states.

‘His focus on protection services at royal and government level enriches Broadstone Risks with a depth of expertise rarely found in this field.’

A senior security source told MailOnline in 2022: ‘Dave is a lovely man and a very experienced royal protection officer who has worked for Harry for many years.

‘Harry clearly trusts him – so much so that he accompanied Meghan to her baby shower in New York. He was also with Harry in Vegas.’

Since then, he has been an omnipresent force behind Harry and Meghan: always present, but never the center of attention.

He hung on Meghan’s shoulder at the 2022 Invictus Games launch event in Düsseldorf and was with the Duke in London in March last year.

Mr Langdown was recently spotted keeping a close eye on the Sussexes as they made a near-royal tour of Nigeria in May. He kept a close eye on the visit from behind horn-rimmed glasses.

And when the pair arrived in Colombia for another tour – which was criticised for costing the South American taxpayer £45,000 – the guide was not far behind.

According to sources, Harry and Mr Langdown are ‘as close as a couple of thieves’ and the security guard has moved to California with his family.

A source said the sun: ‘The guard is an English boy who moved to Montecito with his family. He and Harry are very close, very tight. Thick as thieves.’

But his presence does not come cheap.

A security source said the mirror in 2022 that while Mr Langdown is “the best of the best” and that his relationship with Harry “goes back years”, the bill for his services is “certainly… thousands of pounds a day”.

Harry is said to spend his days taking children to school and going on bike rides with his security staff, and has become increasingly irritated by the Sussexes’ image, which contrasts with that of his brother and sister-in-law, the Prince and Princess of Wales.

An old friend told The Times last month that Harry is now a “very angry boy”, adding: “Everyone who knows him thinks he would rather be at the top, where everyone loves him, like they do William and Kate.”

The Sussexes and Broadstone were approached for comment.