Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their exit from the Royal Family earlier this year, and officially the couple stepped down in March. The terms of their exit were debated at length, and the Royal Family met with Harry at the ‘Sandringham Summit’ to discuss the nature of the Sussexes’ future royal roles.
After much deliberation it was decided Harry and Meghan’s wish to be part-time working royals would not be possible.
For this reason, Harry and Meghan will no longer be considered senior, working members of the Royal Family, and they will not be able to complete royal engagements on behalf of the Crown.
It was decided the couple would keep their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles, and they would retain their His and Her Royal Highness (HRH) status.
However as the couple are no longer working for the Royal Family, it was agreed Harry and Meghan would no longer use their HRH titles.
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This was outlined on Harry and Meghan’s Sussex Royal website: “As agreed and set out in January, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will retain their “HRH” prefix, thereby formally remaining known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer actively use their HRH titles as they will no longer be working members of the family as of Spring 2020.”
Harry and Meghan were not stripped of their royal titles, as was the case for two members of the family in recent royal history.
Harry’s mother Princess Diana lost her HRH title when she divorced Prince Charles, and simply became Diana, Princess of Wales.
But unlike other royals, Beatrice and Eugenie still use their HRH titles – despite not being working royals.
Beatrice and Eugenie have their own careers – Beatrice works as vice president of a tech company, and Eugenie is a director of an art gallery.
And although Beatrice and Eugenie can work with their HRH titles, it is not known why the Queen decided Harry and Meghan can not do the same.
The Sussexes appeared to make reference to Beatrice and Eugenie’s situation in their Sussex Royal transition details.
The website states: “While there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of the institution, for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a 12-month review period has been put in place.”
Although the couple no longer use their HRH titles, and are no longer senior working royals, the couple remain members of the Royal Family.
Announcing Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down, the Queen said Harry, Meghan and their son Archie would remain “much loved” members of her family.
The Sussexes have retained the royal residence of Frogmore Cottage in Windsor as their family home in the UK.
But recently the couple purchased a sprawling mansion in a sought after area of Santa Barbara, California.
