Meghan and Harry: Yes, we WILL ditch ‘Royal’ brand
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced last night that they will stop using their Sussex Royal brand from this spring.
It follows the Daily Mail’s revelation this week that Buckingham Palace had told Harry and Meghan not to employ the name when they are no longer working royals.
It is a significant blow for the couple, who have spent tens of thousands of pounds building the Sussex Royalbranded website and creating a hugely popular Instagram feed.
A string of trademark applications, covering items from clothing and books to stationery and bandanas, were filed under the brand.
These global trademark applications have now been withdrawn, the Sussexes’ spokesman said yesterday.
Harry and Meghan are also in the process of setting up a new charitable after their split in August last year from the Royal Foundation Charity, which they shared with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The pair wanted to use Sussex Royal branding but a new name will now have to be found.
It is the latest humiliation for the couple who announced last month they were stepping down as senior royals and moving to North America.
The pair have already agreed to give up their HRH titles for work purposes, and their official patronages on behalf of the queen, including Harry’s honorary military titles.
Complicated negotiations concluded that it was untenable for them to use the word ‘royal’ in their branding.
A spokesman for the Sussexes said last night: ‘While the Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organisation, given the specific UK Government rules surrounding use of the word “Royal”, it has been therefore agreed their nonprofit organisation, when it is announced this spring, will not be named Sussex Royal Foundation.
‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use Sussex Royal in any territory post-spring 2020.
‘Therefore trademark applications that were filed as protective measures, acting on advice from and following the same model for The Royal Foundation, have been removed.’
Harry and Meghan first began using Sussex Royal this time last year after they split their household from that of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, known as Kensington Royal.
The Sussexes’ Instagram page, @sussexroyal, has amassed 11.2million followers – the same number of fans as William and Kate’s account.
But the Mail revealed this week that the Queen and senior officials had decided the couple would have to drop their name.
A source told the Mail at the time: ‘In many ways this is inevitable given their decision to step down.
‘But it must surely come as a blow to the couple as they have invested everything into the Sussex Royal brand. The Queen would have had little choice, however.
‘The Sussexes’ original plan – of being half-in, half-out working royals – was never going to work.
‘Obviously, as the Queen has made clear, they are still much-loved members of her family.
‘But if they aren’t carrying out official duties and are now seeking other
‘Significant blow to couple’
commercial opportunities, they simply cannot be allowed to market themselves as royals.’
Harry and Meghan announced on Wednesday that they will step down as working royals in less than six weeks and close their Buckingham Palace office.
They will take part in six more engagements before formally withdrawing from frontline roles on March 31. Their final official engagement is expected to be on March 9, when they will join the Queen at Westminster Abbey to mark Commonwealth Day.
Harry and Meghan intend to split their time between North America and the UK.
They are planning to base themselves in Canada, where the duchess lived while starring in TV drama Suits.
The couple are also said to be looking for a property in Los Angeles so they can spend time with Meghan’s mother Doria.
They will no longer use their HRH titles, but they can keep their personal associations with charities and other organisations. The Sussexes appeared at a conference in Miami earlier this month organised by banking giant JP Morgan in what was their first public sighting since their shock withdrawal as senior royals. Their appearance at the exclusive summit, where Harry gave a speech, could have earned them up to £775,000. A source said the duke ‘opened up to the wealthy crowd about the childhood trauma of losing his mother’.