When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex abandoned royal duties for the US in 2020, the late Queen Elizabeth was keen to emphasise they would ‘always be much-loved members of my family’.
In a personal statement issued by Buckingham Palace that January, the Queen seemed to accept Harry and Meghan’s explanation that they wanted to leave Britain because they were desperate for more privacy.
‘I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life,’ Her Majesty said.
Heaven knows what she would have made of the couple’s publicity-seeking in the five years since – including Meghan’s latest promotional video for her lifestyle brand, As Ever, featuring the couple’s young children, Archie and Lilibet.
Insiders have previously told me that the Queen was gravely concerned about the Sussexes’ plans to make money. She knew all too well from previous experience – such as with Edward and Sophie’s commercial projects 25 years ago – of the scandals that can lurk for royals trying to earn money.
Heaven knows what the Queen would have made of the couple’s publicity-seeking in the past five years, writes RICHARD EDEN. Lilibet (pictured in an image posted on social media by Meghan) featured in the Duchess’s latest promotional video for her lifestyle brand
That is why she made her grandson and his American wife agree not to use their HRH titles in their commercial ventures.
Significantly, below the Queen’s 2020 statement was another ‘from Buckingham Palace’, which read: ‘The Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty. The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.’
This week, we have seen evidence that appears to show the couple have broken this agreement with the late Queen.
On Monday, Meghan’s friend, cosmetics entrepreneur and podcast host Jamie Kern Lima, uploaded an interview with the duchess to her YouTube channel.
In the video, she included an image of a gift basket Meghan had given her containing the duchess’s homemade jam, two tubs of Straus organic ice cream, flowers and a card reading: ‘With the compliments of HRH, The Duchess of Sussex.’
While her representatives have denied she is continuing to use the title for commercial purposes, it is not the first time the duchess has publicised it in recent weeks.
This week, we have seen evidence that appears to show the couple have broken their agreement with the late Queen. A gift basket containing some of Meghan’s produce came with a card reading: ‘With the compliments of HRH, The Duchess of Sussex’
The Queen was initially delighted at the speed with which Meghan became a member of the Royal Family but her departure caused a deep rift
A fortnight ago, she posted a message she’d received on her Instagram account, addressing her as ‘Your Royal Highness’. As I noted at the time, it seemed a deliberately provocative act to publish the message, which had been sent by a Ukrainian government minister.
And my sources question whether provocation could be the aim. ‘Harry and Meghan are like rebellious teenagers,’ one insider told me this week. ‘They’re constantly pushing the boundaries to test what they can get away with.’
Senior courtiers have made clear that they do not expect King Charles to take action against his younger son and daughter-in-law. Our monarch has always avoided confrontation and has sought to keep options open for the Sussexes should they seek a return to royal duties.
For instance, he has not removed Harry from his role as a Counsellor of State, which could see his son standing in for royal duties in the case of an emergency.
Instead, the King requested that Princess Anne and Prince Edward were added to the list of Counsellors, so there would be less need for Harry or the scandal-hit Prince Andrew to be called upon. The request was duly turned into a Bill and approved by Parliament in 2022.
From what I have been told this week, William would not be so indulgent of his brother.
Friends say they would expect the Prince of Wales to take measures against Harry and Meghan once he is on the throne.
One pointed to William’s public denial after the Sussexes’ explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. ‘We are very much not a racist family,’ he told a reporter when asked about Meghan’s claim that a family member had questioned the skin colour of her future children.
‘That gives you a taste of the no-nonsense approach that he would take,’ my source told me.
It seems a starkly different mood to Queen Elizabeth’s 2020 statement, when she said she was ‘particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family’.
If the Sussexes want to retain those ‘family’ bonds, it appears they may need to consign their HRH titles to the past.
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