Prince Harry 'deeply concerned' about Meghan's market 'security scare'
Words by Sarah Carty
It’s been a hectic few weeks for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who are currently on their royal tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, with the royal couple carrying out 76 engagements in 16 days.
However, while the early mornings and meet-and-greets haven’t seemed to bother 34-year-old Harry, his pregnant wife Meghan’s recent security scare is said to have ‘deeply concerned’ him.
The 37-year-old Duchess of Sussex was visiting Suva Municipal Market on Wednesday to meet some of the female vendors who have been involved in the UN Women’s project ‘Markets for Change’.
She was supposed to spend about 20 minutes mingling with the locals, however, her visit ended abruptly after six minutes, with Meghan escorted out of the building by officials.
According to numerous reports, Kensington Palace came to the conclusion that the crowds were too big and decided to pull the plug early on the scheduled appearance.
Meghan’s protection officer could be seen in the photos putting her hands out in front of the pregnant royal to try to keep people back.
Former palace protection officer weighs in
Princess Diana’s former protection officer Ken Wharfe wrote in The Sun that the scenes at the market were “chaotic” and added that “royalty protection will need to address basic elements of personal protection, found to be wanting in Suva.”
Ken also told Sky News that he thought “Kensington Palace was right to say there was cause for concern” at the marketplace and believes there should have been “defined entry and exit” points and “additional security”.
And now it’s been claimed that Harry was irked after the incident, as he’s fiercely protective of his wife and unborn child.
Indeed, it comes after Harry told a fan in Sydney last weekend that Meghan was resting at home because “pregnancy was taking it’s toll” on her.
Kensington Palace then released a statement, saying the Duchess was taking a well-deserved break and cutting back on her appearances.
“After a busy programme, The Duke and Duchess have decided to cut back The Duchess’s schedule slightly for the next couple of days, ahead of the final week and half of the tour,” a statement from Kensington Palace read.
“The Duke will attend the cycling as scheduled this morning, and The Duchess will join him for this afternoon’s engagements.
Tour is taking its toll
Meghan had a jam-packed week last week, after kicking off with Princess Eugenie’s royal wedding on the 12th, after which the couple flew straight from London to Australia.
Since then, it’s been a whirlwind of royal engagements for the former actress, who revealed last week that she is pregnant with the couple’s first child.
The couple visited Sydney, Dubbo and Melbourne, before flying back to Sydney on Friday morning to visit Bondi Beach, a trip to Fraser Island, Fiji and now Tonga.
The couple are due to fly back to Sydney today, before making their way to New Zealand on Monday.
