14 February 2024 , 11:14
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decision to use their children's royal titles on their new website has been branded as 'surprising'.
The couple quietly launched their new site sussex.com earlier this week and sparked a royal row by using it to boast of their links to the Royal Family. The main homepage welcomes visitors to the site of "The Office of Prince Harry & Meghan, The Duke & Duchess of Sussex" and features a special coat of arms designed for Meghan. The site also has lenghty bios for each of the couple, with very similar paragraphs appearing in both describing their home and family life.
Harry with his son Prince Archie (Netflix)
The couple's youngest child Princess Lilibet (PA)Harry's reads: "Prince Harry lives in California with his wife Meghan, and their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet." While Meghan's says: "Meghan lives in California with her husband and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet." And according to a royal source, mentioning their children by referring to them as Prince and Princess has caused 'surprise'.
Archie, four, and two-year-old Lilibet weren't given prince/princess or HRH titles at birth as they were not at the time grandchildren of the monarch - this was despite Meghan saying in the couple's interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey that Archie was not given the title of prince because of his race.
Despite railing against their time in the Royal Family, when Charles became King in September 2022, Archie and Lilibet became the grandchildren of a Monarch which changed their status. It was then revealed last March, when Lilibet was christened, that the children would be given Prince and Princess titles.
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The couple during an appearance in New York last year (Getty Images for Project Healthy)At that time, Harry and Meghan were understood to be keen to not deny their children their birth-right, but to allow them the chance to decide for themselves when older whether to drop or keep using the titles. Harry and Meghan's new website comes four years after their decision to quit their royal roles in favour of making millions in the corporate world. It also links to their former ‘Sussex Royal’ website which they were banned from using by the late Queen.
Under the terms of an agreement struck with Buckingham Palace, Harry and Meghan can use their Duke and Duchess titles but cannot use HRH in their commercial endeavours. A statement from the palace at the time of the couple’s departure from royal life said "everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty".
Harry and Meghan left the royal family to seek "financial freedom" and quickly set about signing commercial deals with streaming giants Netflix and Spotify for an estimated £100million. But their decision to quietly launch a Sussex.com site, using Meghan's coat of arms and detailing their children's prince and princess titles, was last night branded "exploitative in the extreme".
Buckingham Palace did not comment but The Mirror understands the couple did not consult palace officials before launching the new endeavour. Esteemed royal historian Hugo Vickers said: "It goes against everything the Sussexes promised they would not do. They are trading on their royal titles and associations in every way you look at it.
"From the royal coat of arms used, to their Sussex titles to the titles of their children. It doesn't matter what parameters you judge it on, the man on the street would identify those behind the website as part of the royal family. It is exploitative in the extreme."