King Charles III Penalizes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Publicly

Now that he’s ascended to the throne, King Charles III is already making moves regarding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s standings within the British royal family. According to Page Six, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex seem to have been demoted, based on the official website for The Royals. The couple were previously listed right under Prince William and Kate Middleton on the website. But, they have now been “demoted” and pushed to the bottom of the page next to the disgraced Prince Andrew. 

As Page Six noted, when Harry and Meghan were working members of the royal family, they were listed below William and Kate, the new Prince and Princess of Wales. After they departed the royal family as senior, working members of the royal family, they were pushed to the position below Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter. With a new monarch on the throne, Charles has made a move to reflect Harry and Meghan’s standings within the royal family. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now much less prominently featured on the site. In fact, their photos and accompanying information only sit above the disgraced Prince Andrew, who is the last one listed. Ever since Charles ascended to the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, there has been much talk about Meghan and Harry’s roles within the royal family. More specifically, there has been talk about whether their two children, son Archie and daughter Lilibet, will be allowed to use “prince” and “princess” titles now that their grandfather is the king. It was previously reported that while the youngsters may be able to use those titles, they won’t be referred to as “His or Her Royal Highness.”

“Harry and Meghan were worried about the security issue, and being prince and princess brings them the right to have certain levels of royal security,” a source told The Sun. “There have been a lot of talks over the past week.” The publication claimed that Harry and Meghan were “insistent that Archie and Lilibet are prince and princess,” but “have been left furious that Archie and Lilibet cannot take the title HRH.” The insider continued to allege, “That is the agreement—they can be prince and princess, but not HRH because they are not working royals.” As Cosmopolitan reported, the official decision regarding Archie and Lilibet’s titles could be coming any day now that the official period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth has ended.