Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship is said to be beyond repair, and the future king is reportedly planning to take an easy step to ensure his brother’s children are not part of the royal family
Prince William is said to be considering a decree to remove Harry’s HRH title(Image: Toby Melville – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Prince William’s bond with his brother Prince Harry appears irreparably damaged after a tense five years. Harry’s 2020 exit from the UK and royal duties led to a perceived betrayal within Palace circles. Harry, assisted by Meghan Markle, has launched criticisms against the royal establishment and his family, while also expressing a desire for reconciliation.
Such contrary statements have alienated his brother; it is said that William is the main obstacle to Harry rekindling ties with their father, King Charles. Tensions flared again this year when Harry and Meghan continued using their HRH titles, despite assuring the late Queen Elizabeth they would no longer use them.
While Charles has hesitated to formally strip the royal titles, William reportedly has no such hesitation to remove them once he becomes king.
This move would extend to Harry and Meghan’s children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, who are growing up in the USA and reportedly have American accents.
Prince Harry and Meghan have given candid interviews about their experience as royals(Image: Eddie Mulholland – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Recent reports indicated Harry’s wish to retain the HRH titles for Archie and Lilibet, hinting at a potential role in royal life as they mature. However, a friend of William labelled this notion as “beyond parody.”
A source told the Daily Beast: “William obviously isn’t going to hire Archie and Lilibet. This is just trolling on the part of Harry and Meghan.”
An HRH is not a title but a ‘style’ used to address someone. It doesn’t imply that the person holds a formal rank.
Another friend of William’s explained that it’s a relatively simple process to remove the HRH styles: “An HRH is bestowed by letters patent — which is basically a fancy way of saying it is a legally binding royal decree — and by precedent, an HRH can be taken away by royal decree also.
“Look at Diana and Fergie. The HRHs weren’t removed ‘because they got divorced’; the rules were quietly changed to remove HRHs from royal exes. There is a difference.
“They have asked the Sussexes politely to stop using the style, to no avail, so I imagine William will simply issue new letters patent to formally remove the entire family’s right to use HRH when he becomes king,” they added.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s children would be affected by the change(Image: Toby Melville – Pool/Getty Images)
The source suggests William will present the move as “part of a wider tidying-up exercise to reduce, more broadly, the number of HRHs in circulation.”
They added: “He could, for example, say that only working royals are entitled to use HRH, which seems sensible if you are trying to modernise, or specify that only children of the monarch are HRH, not the grandchildren — which would have the added advantage of making things clearer for their own kids’ families in due course.”