Many Brits still feel bad about the Megxit nine months after it was announced. Tens of thousands of Britons believe that those who leave the royal family should no longer adorn themselves with their titles. Why the Queen decided otherwise and what Princess Diana might have to do with it.
The future of Prince Harry, 35, and Duchess Meghan, 39, lies 8,588 kilometers from Buckingham Palace in Montecito, Santa Barbara. The couple bought a house there, the first family home of their own with baby Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, one after retiring as senior royals. Many grant the couple their happiness – and find that the separation from the royal family must be carried out even more clearly than before.
Many Brits think that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan should give up their titles
The British newspaper "The Expres" wanted to know exactly and asked its readers online whether Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan should lose their titles (His / Her Royal Highness and Duke and Duchess of Sussex). 59,523 people voted between August 14th and 18th – with a clear result.
89 percent of those surveyed (52,903 people) answered yes, while only nine percent (5,470) said no. Two percent (1,150) said they didn't know. A clear smack for Harry and Meghan!
Can the Queen withdraw the titles of Harry and Meghan?
The Queen alone decided in 2018 to appoint Harry and Meghan as Duke and Duchess of Sussex – and she's also the one who can reverse that decision. However, it seems unlikely that it will ever do so. It usually takes extreme circumstances to demote a royal like this. Not even King Edward VIII was deprived of the HRH title after his abdication in 1936. The prince title cannot be withdrawn from Harry, by the way, because he automatically received it on the day of his birth. This goes back to a decree of King George VI. in November 1917.
Nevertheless, the subject of "title" is said to have come on the tray during the Megxit negotiation.
Royale titles were on the brink because of Megxit
A source told the Evening Standard in early 2020 that the removal of the titles was "seriously considered and discussed at the highest level". The idea was ultimately rejected because Queen Elizabeth, 94, and Prince Charles, 71, did not want to have Meghan and Hary considered "petty". Other palace insiders denied the claim as "categorically wrong".
Princess Diana as a warning negative example?
Another reason Harry and Meghan kept their titles could be Princess Diana. Royal observer Andrew Pierce expressed this opinion on the TV show "Good Morning Britain" and said the royal family had learned from their mistakes. The fact that the mother of William and Harry had been deprived of the title of Royal Highness after the divorce from Prince Charles had caused a lot of criticism. One more time they want to spare themselves the fuss, speculates Pierce.
Either way, a "light version" of the removal of the title of Harry and Meghan was agreed in the end: They remain Royal Highnesses, but are no longer allowed to call themselves that in public.
Meghan Markle no longer a duchess after divorce
In August 1996, Queen Elizabeth issued a Letters Patent that divorced wives of male descendants of the King / Queen are not allowed to use the title of Royal Highness. Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson were the first to give up their titles under these new regulations. With the Queen's permission, Diana remained the Princess of Wales and Sarah the Duchess of York (to this day).
Source used: express.co.uk
This article originally appeared on Gala.de.