Prince Harry and wife Meghan had hoped to be allowed a ‘half-in, half-out’ approach to royal life – and were upset when their plans for a hybrid role were rejected by the late Queen
Discussion surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan‘s royal roles have been reignited following the King’s decision to strip his brother Andrew of his titles.
Just recently, Meghan has been accused of continuing to cash in on the couple’s royal connections through her lifestyle brand. In a recent clip to promote her Christmas range, Meghan could be seen working at her laptop and on her desk sat a blue notebook with her royal cypher embossed in gold on the cover. The monogram – made up of the letter M with a crown on top – was unveiled ahead of her wedding to Harry in 2018.
Furthermore, she has also released a new candle – No 519 – in honour of their nuptials. “This signature candle is inspired by the ease and joy of a day that holds Meghan’s most cherished memories — her wedding day, May 19th,” the description read.
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It has prompted criticism amongst royal watchers who question why Harry and Meghan continue to play on their links to the Firm given their many criticisms of their time in the institution, and their decision to quit royal life more than five years ago.
According to royal author Tom Bower, senior royals and Buckingham Palace officials have long speculated on the Sussexes’ intention to ‘monetise the monarchy’. And he previously said the freeze in relations between the Sussexes and Buckingham Palace became apparent after the couple were forced to drop plans to use the brand ‘SussexRoyal’.
The couple’s lives as working royals came to an end on 31 March 2020 when they stopped representing the Queen and became financially independent. In February 2020, the couple shared a statement on their official website suggesting they were angry at the way the decision was reached and how they have been treated compared with other royals.
In a statement that Mr Bower said was written in ‘spite’ and took aim at every single royal – including the late Queen, the Sussexes wrote that the monarch had no power to stop them using the word ‘royal’. “While there is not any jurisdiction by the monarchy or cabinet office over the use of the word ‘royal’ overseas, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ or any iteration of the word ‘royal’ in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs spring 2020,” the statement said.
Mr Bower said that the 1,114-word statement, “was spiteful fury. It was rude to the Queen.” Mr Bower further noted to the Daily Mail that the statement barely concealed the Sussexes’ ‘simmering resentment’ against other members of the family, and a subtle dig at ‘minor royals’ Beatrice and Eugenie.
“While there is precedent for other titled members of the royal family to seek employment outside of the institution, for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex a 12-month review period has been put in place,” it continued. Effective March 2020, the Sussexes stopped being working members of the Royal Family and, therefore, were no longer allowed to use their ‘HRH’ titles. According to Mr Bower, “Harry assured his family” that the couple would “never” use their titles “to make money” – but less than a month after January’s Sandringham Summit, Harry jetted out to Miami for a JP Morgan event.
“Hosted by Gayle King, he flew to Florida on a private jet from Vancouver to earn an estimated $1 million for exposing his wounds,” the biographer commented, recalling how Harry revealed he had been in therapy for seven years to process the loss of his mother, the late Princess Diana, during the keynote address.
Harry also told the crowd he did not ‘regret’ the Sussexes’ decision to step down as senior royals because it was taken to ‘protect his family’. Mr Bower claimed palace officials were ‘aghast’ after the lucrative engagement. This was, Mr Bower suggested, ‘exactly the commercialisation of the monarchy’ that Harry had vowed to avoid during his meetings at Sandringham in January 2020.
Harry and Meghan first began using Sussex Royal in 2019 after they split their household from that of Prince William and Princess Kate’s known as Kensington Royal. The Sussexes’ Instagram page, @sussexroyal, had amassed 11.2million followers at the time – the same number of fans as William and Kate’s account.
The following year, however, it was revealed that the Queen and senior officials had decided the couple would have to drop their name. A source told the Mail at the time: “In many ways, this is inevitable given their decision to step down. But it must surely come as a blow to the couple as they have invested everything into the Sussex Royal brand. The Queen would have had little choice, however.
“The Sussexes’ original plan – of being half-in, half-out working royals – was never going to work. Obviously, as the Queen has made clear, they are still much-loved members of her family. But if they aren’t carrying out official duties and are now seeking other commercial opportunities, they simply cannot be allowed to market themselves as royals.”
