Times Harry And Meghan's Penny-Pinching Habits Raised Eyebrows

When you're a former royal and a millionaire, do you really need to get free stuff? People have criticized Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a lot — such as the Spotify exec who used two brutal words to describe them amid their podcast drama. Although nothing may cut quite as deep as being called "F***ing grifters" for that mess, it likely doesn't feel any better to be called cheap.

In one instance from February 2024, insiders spoke with Page Six about a luxury Harry and Meghan got to use free of charge — a private jet ride to an Invictus Games event in Canada. One insider who claimed to have worked with them quipped, "They certainly don't like to spend their own money." Another said, "It's always other people's money."

According to Page Six, Meghan and Harry have often gotten jet rides from friends. For example, the month prior to their free Canada trip, they flew with Brian Robbins to the premiere of "Bob Marley: One Love" in Jamaica (starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the titular singer). Meghan and Harry have also stayed at friends' houses while traveling, and one such time was when they were involved in a dangerous paparazzi chase — which might not have transpired if Meghan and Harry had paid for lodging.

In May 2023, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry headed to New York City for the Ms. Foundation's Women of Vision Awards, where Meghan was receiving said award. Afterward, Meghan and Harry chose to stay with a friend instead of at a hotel. While being driven along with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, they were pursued by paparazzi. Their 'near-fatal' paparazzi car chase proves we learned nothing from Princess Diana.

However, some witnesses challenged the severity of Harry and Meghan's car chase claims. Additionally, an insider believed it never would have happened if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex paid for a hotel room instead. The source — who works for law enforcement in New York — said, "They should have just gotten a hotel for the safety of everyone. Instead, they were cheap and wanted a free place to stay" (via Page Six). 

The insider said the Carlyle Hotel denied a discount for the royals and continued, "If they had just paid up and got a hotel in the first place, this supposed 'dangerous' paparazzi chase around town would never have happened." They added that if circumstances had been different, the extent of the paparazzi intruding on their day would be photographs taken as they walked into the Carlyle.

Once when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle didn't pay a bill, it was because of royal protocol. When the couple took a romantic trip to Norway in January 2017, a flight attendant said the couple were "lovely" in an interview with Express. She said, "They said to the airline that they wanted to be treated as normal passengers, so we didn't do any exceptions or special service for them."

The attendant brought the food and drinks they ordered, but she was unsure how to proceed, " ... as they didn't ask for the bill and it seemed like they assumed that was for free. I was too embarrassed to ask so I just left." The flight attendant wasn't going to make them pay at all, but Harry and Meghan's bodyguard came by to pay. The bodyguard told the attendant how that was normal operating procedure for royals, since they don't carry their own money.

This had previously been confirmed by an officer that used to work with Princess Diana. Regarding police officers paying for the royals, Ken Wharfe told The Independent in 2009, "It is usually for unofficial, private business and it is done for security reasons, to keep things as private as possible." Since Harry and Meghan no longer have bodyguards or security officers provided by the royal family, perhaps that explains why they often find free travel and lodging.