Prince Harry has hinted that he and his wife, Meghan Markle will never give up their royal titles, while brazenly asking ‘what difference it would make’.
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they were stepping away from the monarchy and moving to America in early 2020 – many people called for them to give up their royal titles.
Those cries have become increasingly louder in the years since, during which Harry and Meghan have both launched multiple attacks on the royal family, beginning with their incendiary Oprah interview – and continuing with further TV appearances, a Netflix documentary, and the release of Harry’s bombshell memoir, which he has been promoting in a series of on-air interviews.
More than two years later, a poll revealed in December that 98 per cent of participants still want the pair to be stripped of their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles – especially amid the couple’s bombshell Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which premiered last month and included several explosive accusations about their time as royals.
But now, the Prince, 38, has addressed the burning question surrounding his and his wife’s royal titles during a new, tell-all interview with 60 Minutes – suggesting that the pair will not ever relinquish their status as Duke and Duchess because he doesn’t believe it would ‘make a difference’.
Prince Harry has hinted that he and his wife, Meghan Markle (seen in 2017) will never give up their royal titles
The Prince, 38, addressed the burning question surrounding his and his wife’s royal titles during a new, tell-all interview with 60 Minutes, which aired on Sunday
When asked by host Anderson Cooper (left) about why he and Meghan haven’t renounced their titles, Prince Harry (right) fired back, ‘And what difference would that make?’
Anderson Cooper asked: ‘Why not renounce your titles as Duke and Duchess?’
Prince Harry fired back: ‘And what difference would that make?’
Anderson said: ‘One of the criticisms that you’ve received is that okay, fine, you wanna move to California, you wanna step back from the institutional role. Why be so public? Why reveal conversations you’ve had with your father or with your brother? You say you tried to do this privately.’
Harry retorted: ‘Every single time I’ve tried to do it privately there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife.
‘You know, the family motto is never complain, never explain. But it’s just a motto. And it doesn’t really hold.’
The couple first made the shocking announcement that they were going to step back from their royal duties on January 8, 2020.
At the time, they wrote in a joint statement that they had reached the decision after ‘many months of reflection and internal discussions.’
They said they wanted to ‘work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.’
‘We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honor our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages,’ the statement continued.
‘This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.’
When the couple (seen in 2020) announced that they were stepping away from the monarchy and moving to America in early 2020 – many people called for them to give up their royal titles
A recent poll revealed in December that 98 per cent of participants sill want the pair to be stripped of their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles
People want them to give up their titles amid the couple’s bombshell Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which premiered last month and included several explosive accusations
At the time, Norman Baker, a former Liberal Democrat MP and a Home Office minister in the coalition government, said they should give up their titles in a scathing interview, stating, ‘You can’t be one foot in, one foot out.’
‘You are either a member of the royal family or you are not,’ he told Express.
Just over a year later, in February 2021, Harry and Meghan announced that they were permanently stepping down as royals and moving to California full-time, where they purchased a $14 million mansion in Montecito.
Harry(seen in 2017) said in the doc that he told his father, King Charles II, that he and Meghan were willing to relinquish their titles during discussions surrounding their plan to move to America
One month later, the pair sat down with Oprah for a two-hour, tell-all conversation – during which, they alleged that someone in the royal family voiced concerns over their son, Archie’s skin color before his birth and that Meghan had suicidal thoughts while she was pregnant, but that she was told by the Palace that she couldn’t ‘get help’ because ‘it wouldn’t be good for the institution.’
After the interview aired, palace aides called on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to give up their titles once again.
‘The Duke of Sussex has now spent a significant amount of time emphasizing that he’s no different to anyone else and attacking the institution which he says has caused him so much pain,’ a senior courtier told The Mail on Sunday.
‘There is a growing feeling that if you dislike the institution that much, you shouldn’t have the titles.
‘They should just become Harry and Meghan. And if they refuse to do that, they have to explain why not.’
In their recent Netflix doc, the couple made more shocking statements – like that the couple were victims of ‘institutional gaslighting’ and that the royals would lie to protect his older brother, Prince William.
Anderson pointed out during 60 Minutes that ‘one of the criticisms’ that the pair has received is that they ‘want to step back from the institutional role’ but still want to ‘be so public’
‘Every single time I’ve tried to do it privately there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife,’ Harry stated
Harry also said in the series that he told his father, King Charles II, that he and Meghan were willing to relinquish their titles during discussions surrounding their plan to move to America.
Following its premiere, a poll by YouGov, carried out for The Times, revealed that 44 per cent of participants said that Prince Harry and Meghan should have their titles removed, while 32 per cent thought not.
A separate poll for Mail+ resulted in 98 per cent of 9,700 people stating that they wanted the royal couple to lose their titles.
Royal expert and biographer Robert Jobson said afterwards: ‘Harry claims in his Netflix docuseries he offered to give up his title Duke of Sussex.
‘Given his and his wife’s distaste for our constitutional monarchy, surely it is time for the Crown to accept his offer. The title was given in anticipation of service to the Crown and country.’
It was also reported last month that Members of Parliament have been trying to get a bill passed that would give the Privy Council the power to downgrade Prince Harry and Meghan’s status, with the Isle of Wight MP accusing the Sussexes of ‘monetizing misery’ and using their titles to rake in $121 million-plus from corporate deals.
To change the royal couple’s status, legislation would have to amend the 1917 Titles Deprivation Act that was used to remove honors such as peerages from enemies who supported German aggression in the First World War.