Meghan Markle’s referring to Prince Harry as “Papa Sussex” in an Instagram post marking International Women’s Day sparked debate on social media.
The Duchess of Sussex posted a photograph showing her hugging her daughter, Princess Lilibet, while sitting on rocks by the sea near their home in Montecito, California.
The photographer, according to the caption, was Prince Harry, whom she described as “Papa Sussex,” seemingly rubbing some royal fans up the wrong way in the process. Among the responses, some felt the wording was odd, while others defended Meghan’s “sweet post” for her daughter.
Why It Matters
The couple was given the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth II upon their marriage in 2018. Calls to strip them of their aristocratic titles grew after they left the palace for a new life in the United States in 2020.
Meghan still uses her duchess title online and during official appearances, but also asked actor Mindy Kaling during her Netflix show With Love, Meghan not to call her “Markle,” adding: “You know I’m Sussex now.” It was at that point that fans began calling her Meghan Sussex online.
Meghan has not changed the wording on her website, which still reads “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,” but sometimes includes “Sussex” as if it were her family name.
The lack of clarity, coupled with the fact that she has not actually stopped using the titles, may owe something to the regular criticism Meghan receives about the Sussex name.
What To Know
Meghan marked International Women’s Day with a post on Instagram that read: “For the woman she will one day be… Happy International Women’s Day 📸: Papa Sussex.”
It is commonplace for the duchess to share International Women’s Day content, and in the past, she has also made visits to mark the day.
However, some Reddit users on a thread devoted to royal gossip took a swipe at Meghan for calling Harry “Papa Sussex” while crediting him for taking the photograph.
“Calling him Papa Sussex is weird IMO why not Papa Harry?” one wrote. “I would never call my dad by his last name but then again…”
Another wrote, “It’s incredibly performative,” while a third wrote: “She wants to remind everyone that they’re Sussex now, I’m guessing? Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their Prince and Princess of Sussex. Wouldn’t want anyone to think that some COMMONER just named Harry took the picture.”
Meanwhile, a post on X read: “Why does Markle call her husband by his last name? Is there more than one ‘Papa’ in the picture?”
Not everyone agreed, however. One Reddit user wrote: “For those of you who are for some reason fixated on the fact that she credited Harry as ‘papa Sussex,’ Archie and Lilibet call Harry papa. AND they use Sussex as their surname not Mountbatten Windsor.”
Meghan told People last year that Sussex was “our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children,” she says. “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”
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