Prince William’s reported hopes of stripping Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s HRH titles certainly won’t happen overnight, royal experts say.
After a report from the Daily Beast surfaced claiming William, 42, will have his younger brother and wife’s His/Her Royal Highness titles taken away once he becomes King, one royal connoisseur says it’s far too soon to make anything official.
“It’s a bit premature to guess what William would or could do as Sovereign,” royal historian Marlene Koenig exclusively shared with Us Weekly on Thursday, May 1. “[King] Charles could live another ten years or perhaps three years.”
To get technical, Harry is the only one with the title. Markle also bears the title as a courtesy of marriage.
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Back in 1923, a rule was established in the United Kingdom where a woman takes her husband’s rank and title unless she has a higher rank.
According to Koenig, the formality of removing Harry’s HRH title may have to be an act of Parliament.
“Several private members’ bills would have given the king power to remove a peerage (namely, the Duke of York),” Koenig explained to Us. “Private members’ bills rarely get past the first reading as there has not been sufficient support in Parliament to pass such legislation.”
On Tuesday, April 29, the Daily Beast’s European Editor at Large, Tom Sykes, published reporting stating that Markle and Harry promised the late Queen Elizabeth they would stop using the HRH titles when they left the royal family in 2020.
When Markle recently sent Jamie Kern Lima a gift basket of her homemade strawberry sauce, however, she included a note saying, “With the Compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex.”
According to Sykes, William likely won’t push for any changes in the immediate future partly because “he is pretty respectful of his father’s rank.”
“Charles is the boss for now so what he says goes,” Sykes exclusively told Us. “He is not up for a fight with the Sussexes now.”
Perhaps history may be the greatest indicator of what’s to come. Koenig pointed out that Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson were not HRH by Letters Patent, but through marriage.
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“The Queen did not strip them of their HRH,” Koenig said. “She could not do that as Diana and Sarah were HRH through marriage. The Queen clarified they were no longer entitled to the HRH following the divorce. They were styled as former wives of peers: Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah, Duchess of York.”
What could be done is for the King to issue a statement that states unequivocally that Harry and Markle agreed to not use the HRH.
“Prince Edward didn’t use his title when he ran Ardent. He used Edward Windsor as his professional name,” Koenig said. “If the King feels there is a need, he is the one to take action in the way that he can. William might be heir to the throne for another 10-20 years. If the Palace sees the situation as troubling, it is for the King to do something.”
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