Royal family
King Charles might not be very close with his son, Prince Harry, and his daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, but he won’t ever strip the couple of their royal titles. Here’s why.
King Charles took over as the monarch back in 2022 when the late Queen Elizabeth II died. Prior to Charles becoming king, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family, and they gave up their His and Her Royal Highness titles but kept their Duke and Duchess of Sussex ones. Harry is still recognized as a prince, and Meghan often uses her royal name in attachment to her businesses — even her Instagram account says Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Now, an insider claims that, despite the tension between Harry and his family, Charles will never actually remove the prince and duchess’ titles. Here’s why.
King Charles wants to keep the peace between the royals and the Sussexes
Charles and Harry don’t necessarily have a close relationship, but things are on better terms than they were when Harry and Meghan first left the royal family. Meghan has not returned to the United Kingdom in more than two years, but it seems no matter the level of tension, Charles has no plans to strip the royals of their titles.
An insider close to the royal couple told Mirror that Charles would “never want to humiliate” Harry and Meghan by removing their royal titles. The insider also said that, while conversations did happen after some of the public called for Harry and Meghan’s titles to be removed, lessening Harry and Meghan’s titles, or removing them altogether, “is just something that would not be considered” by the king.
Plus, if Meghan’s Duchess of Sussex title were to be stripped, she would have a legal right to call herself “Princess Henry,” according to Mirror, because she is married to the son of a monarch. And since those who want her stripped of that title probably wouldn’t want her taking on the title of princess, the reason for allowing Harry and Meghan to keep duke and duchess might be twofold.
Harry and Meghan left the United Kingdom back in 2020, and they have not kept up much of a relationship with the royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex seemingly have very little contact with Harry’s family. Harry did return to the UK in early 2024, shortly after his father was diagnosed with cancer, and the two had a conversation about the diagnosis and the monarchy’s future. But outside of that, Harry has not had much public contact with his family.
These days, Harry and Meghan are living their own lives in the US. The couple purchased a home in Montecito, California, where they’re raising their two kids. Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were given royal titles when Charles became king, and they’ll likely keep those for their whole lives, too.
