The debate about Prince Harry and Meghan’s royal status has been rekindled after King Charles chose to remove his brother Andrew’s titles.
Recently, Meghan has faced allegations of exploiting the pair’s royal ties through her lifestyle brand. In a promotional video for her Christmas collection, Meghan appeared working at her computer with a blue notebook displaying her royal cipher in gold lettering positioned on her desk.
The monogram – featuring the letter M topped with a crown – was revealed before her 2018 marriage to Harry.
Additionally, she has launched a new candle – No 519 – commemorating their wedding. “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 product description stated.
However, this move has sparked backlash from royal fans who wonder why Harry and Meghan keep using their royal associations despite their numerous grievances about their time within the institution and their choice to abandon royal duties over five years ago.
Royal biographer Tom Bower claims senior royals and Buckingham Palace staff have long questioned the Sussexes’ plans to “monetize the monarchy.” He previously revealed that the breakdown in relations between the Sussexes and Buckingham Palace became evident when the couple was forced to abandon their “SussexRoyal” brand plans.
The couple stopped representing the Queen on March 31, 2020, and achieved financial independence. In February 2020, the pair expressed their anger with the decision-making process and their treatment compared to other royals in a statement on their official website.
In a statement that Tom described as “spiteful” and said targeted every single royal, including the late Queen, the Sussexes asserted that the monarch had no authority to prevent them from using the term “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 read.
However, Tom characterized the statement as “spiteful fury. It was rude to the Queen.” He then further told the Daily Mail that the statement barely masked the Sussexes’ “simmering resentment” against other family members, and included a veiled jab at “minor royals” Princesses 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.
Starting in March 2020, the Sussexes ceased being working royals and consequently lost the right to use their HRH titles.
According to Tom, “Harry assured his family” that the pair would “never” use their titles “to make money” – but barely a month following the Sandringham Summit, Harry traveled 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 noted, recounting how Harry disclosed he had undergone therapy for seven years to cope with losing his mother, the late Princess Diana, during his keynote speech.
Harry also informed the audience he did not “regret” the Sussexes’ choice to resign as senior royals since it was made to “protect his family.”
However, Tom alleged palace insiders were “aghast” following the profitable appearance.
This represented, the royal expert argued, “exactly the commercialization of the monarchy” that Harry had pledged to prevent during his Sandringham discussions in January 2020. Harry and Meghan first adopted the Sussex Royal moniker in 2019 when they separated their household from Prince William and Princess Kate’s, known as Kensington Royal.
Their Instagram page, @sussexroyal, had garnered 11.2 million followers at that time, matching the fan base of William and Kate’s account.
Yet, the following year, it was disclosed that the Queen and senior officials had determined the couple would need to relinquish their title. A source confided to the Mail, “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.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
