Take Sussexes’ title away, council urged
Petition obliges Brighton city councillors to discuss whether monicker is ‘disrespectful to county’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may be stripped of their title in Brighton following a campaign claiming the title was “unfairly acquired”.
The motion is to be debated at Brighton and Hove city council after thousands of people signed an online petition.
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle could soon no longer be known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Brighton following a campaign claiming the title was “unfairly acquired”.
The merits of the title, bestowed on the couple by the Queen when they were married, are due to be debated at Brighton and Hove city council, which is under pressure to ban the moniker after thousands of people supported an online petition.
The campaign calls on the council to reject the “usage” of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex title, which is “disrespectful to the county of East Sussex”.
The dukedom held by Harry is said to be “entirely non-democratic” and “symbolic of the oppression of the general public by the wealthy elite”, the statement added.
It also asks the council no longer to “invite or entertain” the royal couple “above and beyond that of an ordinary member of the public”.
The motion has become the third most popular online petition in the council’s history, with 3,800 signatures. Any campaign with more than 1,250 signatures must be debated by the full council under internal rules.
But it is a political crusade of somewhat unlikely origins. It was started by 54-year-old Charles Ross, who last night admitted he had set it up when he was “bored” and is surprised it has become the focus of a political debate.
It is to be the fifth item on the agenda when councillors meet at 4.30pm today and will include a three-minute speech automatically granted to the principal petitioner.
Mr Ross told The Daily Telegraph: “I have been a long-standing republican, but I didn’t particularly take up the cause – I think I was bored one evening, if you want me to be honest. I started a petition and I didn’t realise what a ball I would start rolling.”
Despite being the figurehead of an apparent antimonarchist uprising on the south coast, Mr Ross insists he has no links to any political or campaigning groups. “I literally did it off my own back,” he said.
During his address to councillors he said he will be “espousing the fact that if politicians believe in a free society then they should not be according special privileges to people that have inherited titles”.
“My point is that I’ve got nothing against Harry and Meghan personally. I think if [councillors] are fair and reasonable, they should act upon it – if they truly hold to people’s democracy they should follow through. But I have my doubts that they will.”
Other less impressed residents of Sussex have called into question the wisdom of the council in staging such a debate.
The petition was condemned online as an “embarrassment”, and a “waste of time”, with one Twitter user suggesting “the guy starting the petition needs to grow up”. Thomas Mace-archer-mills, founder of the British Monarchists Society claimed the petition was indicative of a troubling rebel movement brewing in the region.
“We are utterly dismayed that said petition has been signed by so many,” he said. “This certainly highlights that Brighton and Hove is a hotbed of Republican dissidents and is now proven to be so. Brighton and Hove should not pander to minority treachery and should not further entertain such a petition as proposed.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Brighton in February, attracting major crowds.