Is the latest statement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex a sign of bitterness? Photo / AP
Is the latest statement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex a sign of bitterness? Photo / AP
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have posted an extraordinary statement on their website claiming that the Queen does not own the word royal across the world after they were forced to drop their 'Sussex Royal' brand.
Harry and Meghan put a new statement on their own website hours after announcing they would stop using the word 'royal' in their branding after the spring - and they insisted on keeping their HRH titles even though they would not 'actively use' them.
The statement struck a more hostile tone in some sections, and said that neither the government nor the Queen herself own the word 'royal' internationally - but they would nonetheless stop using the title.
Royal experts say the statement is yet another PR disaster - this comment piece from the UK Daily Telegraph's Camilla Tominey gives the details and background.
Friends insist that they have no misgivings over their controversial decision to step down as senior Royals. Yet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's latest online outpouring more than hints at an undercurrent of bitterness towards the family they have left behind.
If Harry and Meghan were truly content with how things have turned out, they surely would not have felt the need to publish a 1033-word 'update' on their personal website, laced with thinly-veiled barbs at the Firm.
No regrets? The couple's markedly pointed reaction to being stripped of their royal status smacks of that infamous celebrity catchphrase: "Don't you know who I am?"
It's not just the desperate insistence that they "retain their HRH prefix", pointing out that even though they can't use it beyond Spring, they "formally remain known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex'"
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Should anyone be left in any doubt of their ongoing status, they helpfully remind us that "as the grandson of Her Majesty and second son of The Prince of Wales", Harry remains sixth-in-line to the throne while "the Duchess" has her "own independent profile". That they remain a 'valued part' of Her Majesty's family is underlined for effect.
Yet there is more of a tinge of tantrums and tiaras in the couple's attempted push back at the situation they have found themselves in.
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Other titled members of the Royal family have been allowed to seek employment outside of the institution, but we are subject to a 12-month review, they gripe.
Next year's appraisal was designed to give the couple the opportunity to rethink their position, but by spinning it as an impediment to their independence they insinuate that they are being made examples of (seemingly forgetting they chose to make examples of themselves).
The couple reiterate that "no new appointments will be made to fill Harry's military roles before the 12-month review of the new arrangements is completed" in an apparent swipe at reports Princess Anne would be taking over his role as Colonel General of the Royal Marines.
The strong statement from Harry and Meghan shows they don't plan to go quietly. Photo / AP
Similarly, the suggestion that their "preference was to continue to represent and support the Queen" albeit in a more limited capacity has echoes of Harry's misjudged Sentebale speech blaming the monarchy for refusing to allow them to have their royal cake and eat it.
It isn't their fault their office has had to be wound up with the loss of 15 staff - it was down to Prince Charles's "primary funding mechanism" drying up, they claim, reminding readers they were prepared to give up the Sovereign Grant (but not, it seems, Daddy's Duchy dosh).
They only trademarked the 'Sussex Royal' brand "as a protective measure", they insist, even going so far as to suggest the Cambridges had done the same for their charitable Foundation. (The fact that applications were made for all manner of commercial goods covering items from clothing and books to stationery and bandanas is conspicuous by its absence - although apparently William and Kate have also trademarked tea towels and the like).
Even the concession that they "do not intend to use 'Sussex Royal' or any iteration of the word 'Royal' in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise)" after the end of next month, is not made without a degree of rancour.
The couple selflessly agreed to drop the 'royal' even though "there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word 'Royal' overseas".
Oh, and by the way - they will "be allowed to maintain their patronages (including those that are classified as 'royal' patronages)".
There is a certain irony about the opening paragraph claiming that the sharply-worded salvo is to "mitigate any confusion and subsequent misreporting" when in fact all it serves to do is confirm the accuracy of what has already been reported.
There is no disguising the couple's contempt for the media as they once again question the "supposed public interest justification for intrusion into their lives" - while in the same breath insisting they must retain their taxpayer-funded bodyguards.
"Use this site as the source for factual information," they insist, seemingly oblivious to its own Anglo-American propagandist tone or the need for what we in Her Majesty's press like to call "proper scrutiny".
Rebutting claims they plan to start a "Foundation", despite their own website stating that they are "actively working to create... a charitable entity", the couple's quest to "effect change and complement the efforts made by so many excellent foundations globally" appears conveniently ambiguous.
All we know is that the new "non-profit" entity will not be called "royal" with further details set to be revealed after March 31, the date that signals the couple's separation from the monarchy.
Whatever form their future takes, what is certain from this latest virtual communique is that Harry and Meghan don't plan to go quietly.
