A U.K. Bill Has Been Put Forward to Strip Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of Their Royal Titles, But King Charles Is Unlikely to Be "Happy" To Do So
King Charles is not moving to remove the titles himself, it has been reported.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could risk losing their royal titles if a new bill proposal were to pass in the U.K.
The Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Bob Seely has proposed to strip Harry and Meghan of their status as Duke and Duchess of Sussex, though in order to become law, this bill would have to be passed by the House of Commons and the House of Lords—with OK! calling this process "complicated."
"The bill put forward by Bob Seely hasn’t been selected for the Private Members Bill ballot so it’s not going anywhere at the moment," commented royal expert Jennie Bond, speaking to the publication.
"It is though interesting that the social media rumblings about stripping the Sussexes of their titles has reached Parliament."
For Bond, King Charles is unlikely to be pleased with this proposal.
"I don’t think King Charles would be happy about any overt move to strip Harry and Meghan of titles. He is not vindictive and this would be seen as that," she said.
"It would obviously deepen the rift and the hurt and would almost be like a replay of the lifelong bitterness the Duke of Windsor felt when Wallis Simpson was not given the style HRH. He never forgave that 'slight.'"
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However, Bond also observed that she would have expected Harry and Meghan to stop using their royal titles in official settings since they have eschewed the royal life.
"You would think that, given their new celebrity lifestyle and antipathy to the royal way of life, Harry and Meghan would quietly drop using their titles," she said.
"It seems a cynical move to keep using them in their commercial activities. Just be Harry and Meghan… that’s what they seemed to want, so why not live that life?"
Charles' reluctance to strip his son and his daughter-of-law of their titles has been commented on before, with the Mirror claiming that the King "never wants to humiliate them" in this way.
Harry and Meghan became simply the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they stepped down from their royal roles in 2020, and are no longer entitled to use the "HRH" prefixes. They also surprised the world when they decided to use the "Prince" and "Princess" appellations for their children Archie and Lilibet earlier this year.
Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.