The Duchess of Sussex, aka “avowed feminist” Meghan Markle, could be set to be known by a new and “unusual title.”
“If the duke and duchess titles were removed, she would assume a Princess title,” royal expert Lee Cohen told Mark Dolan. “But if she chose to use the title, it would be Princess Henry.”
“What a bitter pill for an arch-feminist like Meghan to have to carry around her husband’s name if she chose to deploy her title,” he added. “She would be broadcasting that she is nothing without her man. Delicious.”
The British monarchy is rooted in centuries of male primogeniture, which means males take precedence in both titles and birth order, and this extends to the British nobility as well. Britain’s six reigning queens only became “female kings” because no younger brother or male-line heir existed. Although a 2013 law signed by the late Queen Elizabeth II allows older sisters to now accede to the throne before a younger brother, names and titles would be a “quagmire” to sort out.
Females of no royal birth who marry royal men take on all their styles and titles, which means they are first and foremost, “Princess (husband’s first name).” A title typically precedes this, but there are exceptions, such as Princess Michael of Kent.
Meghan officially is Her Royal Highness The Princess Henry, Duchess of Sussex, Countess of Dumbarton, Baroness Kilkeel. Her Sussex title takes precedence as Harry’s Dukedom of Sussex is his pre-eminent title.
“If they lose their titles, Harry is still a prince of the blood and Meghan, instead of being the Duchess of Sussex, would be Princess Henry,” editor of Majesty Magazine Ingrid Seward told an outlet. “That really would confuse the Americans. I think it’s probably best just to leave it because it looks unkind, it looks unnecessary.”
As the British sovereign, King Charles III can remove Harry and Meghan’s HRH styles by simply issuing a Letters Patent making it so. He could also remove Harry’s “prince” style, which also extends to Meghan as “Princess Henry” by virtue of marriage. It would take the U.K. parliament passing acts of legislation to remove the “Duke/Duchess of Sussex” titles and/or to strike Harry and his two children from the line of succession to the throne.
Despite the scandals that have erupted since the monarch acceded to the throne, analysts point out that the King will likely never do his part in removing his youngest son and daughter-in-law’s royal address.
This follows broadcaster Piers Morgans’ words of caution for the monarch in early May. “They shouldn’t be using the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex bestowed on them by the monarchy,” the TV star, who is not a fan of the duo, told Megyn Kelly on her self-titled radio show.
