Reason Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are allowed to use their titles as King Charles clarifies their royal statuses
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are still allowed to use their royal titles, despite King Charles III clarifying their royal statuses.
The Sussexes stepped down as senior working royals in 2020 and left England for California, but recently returned to the UK on 26 August, with rumours rife as to the reason behind the unexpected development.
Harry and Meghan are expected to be living in a non-royal residence outside of London, reported to be in the Cotswolds area, having already enrolled their two children in British schools.
On Monday (7 September), Charles instructed the Lord Chamberlain to contact government departments and the military following requests for guidance after the return of the couple to the UK six years after their departure.
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The letter states: "Following the decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to relocate to the UK, we have received a number of requests for guidance. To help avoid doubt or confusion, the King has directed that the following information be shared."
It continues: "It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of The Sovereign, and are no longer working Members of The Royal Family.
"This position, distinct from the State and Royal duties undertaken by the working Royal Family, and with the personal latitude it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue to be fully respected."
To explain, a non-working royal is a member of the Royal Family who doesn't perform official duties or represent the monarch at state and public engagements.
The BBC also reports that Meghan and Harry will still not be able to use the 'HRH' titles of His and Her Royal Highness.
While they may have stepped down from their working royal roles in 2020, Harry and Meghan still kept their royal Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles.
Additionally, Meghan has explained on several occasions that she uses 'Sussex' as her 'shared name' with Harry and their two children, five-year-old Prince Archie and three-year-old Princess Lilibet.
"It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognised how meaningful that would be to me until we had children," she told PEOPLE last year. "I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me."
She added that the Sussex name, which was bestowed upon her and Harry by the late Queen Elizabeth II on their 2018 wedding day, 'is part of our love story'.
Topics: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Royal Family, UK News, King Charles III
Rhiannon Ingle