15 February 2024 , 16:26
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have caused a stir by launching a new website that highlights their Royal connections. This major rebrand comes four years after they decided to step back from their Royal duties to make money in the business world. The new site links to their old 'Sussex Royal' website, which they were told not to use by the late Queen. According to an agreement with Buckingham Palace, Harry and Meghan can use their Duke and Duchess titles but are not allowed to use HRH for their business activities. When they left Royal life, the palace said that "everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty".
Harry and Meghan left the Royal family to gain "financial freedom" and quickly signed deals with big companies like Netflix and Spotify, earning them an estimated £100million. However, their decision to quietly launch a Sussex.com site, which uses Meghan's coat of arms and mentions their children's prince and princess titles, has been called "extremely exploitative".
Buckingham Palace did not comment, but The Mirror understands that the couple did not talk to palace officials before starting this new project.
Royal historian Hugo Vickers has criticised Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, saying: "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."
The couple's new website, which replaces the main hub for their Archewell organisation, constantly refers to them by their official Royal titles. The name 'Archewell' was inspired by their son Archie - combining "arche", the Greek word meaning source of action, and "well" as "a plentiful source or supply; a place we go to dig deep".
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Meghan and Harry's new website has raised a lot of eyebrows (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
The couple were greeted by a waiting crowd (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)The site links to the Archewell Foundation and Archewell Productions, which produced Meghan's podcast "Archetypes". A photo of Harry and Meghan at the 2023 Invictus Games closing ceremony dominates the main web page, overlaid with the text: "The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex".
Meghan Markle's special coat of arms, designed when she married Prince Harry in May 2018, is featured. Meghan worked closely with the College of Arms to create the design, which included a number of personal elements.
The blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, while two golden rays across the shield are symbolic of the sunshine in Meghan's hometown of Los Angeles, while the three quills represent "communication and the power of words".
However, Royal historians have pointed out that the logo is "outdated and redundant" as a key detail identifies Harry as the grandchild of the monarch, instead of the son of the sovereign.
Prince Harry has his own coat of arms and the pair's symbols can be combined into a "conjugal coat of arms", however, their combined version was never officially revealed by the palace.
Tom Johnston, of the College of Arms, said: "It pertains to them and they can use it at their discretion."
But Mr Vickers added: "The coat of arms used by the Sussexes is also outdated and redundant having five points of the label, signifying the grandchild of the monarch, rather than three points, denoting Harry as the King's son. There is a strong argument that this shouldn't be used at all, regardless of the version, the Sussexes are trading on their Royal connections which was explicitly against the terms of their departure from the Royal family."
The website states: "The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex is shaping the future through business and philanthropy." Both Harry and Meghan's sections mention their children as "Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet", which one Royal source found surprising. Meghan's bio describes her as a champion for human rights and gender equality. She lists herself as a "New York Times bestselling author" and one of the most influential women in the world. Only one sentence refers to her marriage to Prince Harry.