ROW AS HARRY AND MEGHAN CLAIM QUEEN DOESN’T OWN WORD ‘ROYAL’
THE DUKE and Duchess of Sussex have been accused of “spiteful fury” after saying the Queen doesn’t own the word royal.
Harry and Meghan made the claim in a statement they issued on their website following the Queen’s reported decision that it is no longer tenable for them to keep the word royal in their branding.
Agreeing not to use it once they leave the family at the end of March, they said: “While there is not any jurisdiction by the monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word ‘Royal’ overseas, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ or any iteration of the word ‘Royal’ in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020.”
But experts have been shocked by the tone of the statement.
Royal writer Tom Bower, who is researching a biography of Meghan, said it “smacks of spiteful fury. I fear it will get worse”.
And constitutional expert Richard Fitzwilliams said the statement simply revealed the depth of antipathy between the Sussexes and the Palace.
He said: “They’re basically saying the royals can’t stop them using it, but they won’t be using it.”
He added: “It has been especially unnecessary to underline it in this way, especially as the agreement will be reviewed after a year.
“It simply emphasises the division we know is there. The tone is that they are unhappy – they’ve made it clear every step of the way.”
The loss of the Sussex Royal name is a huge blow to Harry and Meghan, who have spent a small fortune creating the brand, its website and the couple’s Instagram site with 11.2 million followers.
In January this year Harry held crisis talks with the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William at Sandringham following the couple’s bombshell decision to stop carrying out official duties on behalf of the Queen and become financially independent.
On Friday night they released their most recent statement, but then put out a fuller one on their Sussex Royal website.
While the couple agreed to back down, there was no specific pledge not to use the royal name or title in their private projects.
The couple’s defiance seems to reflect reported claims by friends of Meghan that Buckingham Palace could not stop her using the brand Sussex Royal.
Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, describe themselves in the statement as a “valued part” of the Royal Family.
It comes after the statement made by the Queen in January at the conclusion of talks that simply described them as “much loved”.
One recent fallout from their departure has been the sacking of the 15 workers at the pair’s Buckingham Palace office. They want to base their new set-up in Canada and the US.
In their statement they explain this was because it was funded by Prince Charles.
The Sussexes also revisit the thorny subject of the couple’s estimated £6million-a-year police protection bill, at present split between Scotland Yard and Canadian police.
In what was thought to be an amicable joint statement in January, the Palace declined to discuss the couple’s security arrangements.
But the new Sussex-penned statement mentions baby Archie and lists Meghan’s high profile to justify round-the-clock protection.
Addressing his military duties, the Sussexes statement said: “In relation to the military, The Duke of Sussex will retain the rank of Major, and honorary ranks of Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader.
“During this 12-month period of review, The Duke’s official military appointments will not be used as
‘It emphasises the division’
they are in the gift of the Sovereign. No new appointments will be made to fill these roles before the 12-month review of the new arrangements is completed.
“While, per the agreement, The Duke will not perform any official duties associated with these roles… he will of course continue his unwavering support to the military community in a non-official capacity.
“As founder of the Invictus Games, The Duke will proudly continue supporting the military community around the world through the Invictus Games Foundation and The Endeavour Fund.” Harry and Meghan’s statement baffled Palace aides and courtiers, who thought the deal had already been done.
One courtier said: “It is very worrying for the future. You have to ask yourself if you could ever do a deal with the Sussexes that wouldn’t unravel later. All they seem to understand is what they want.”
And a former palace aide warned: “The Queen should be in no doubt that this will just get worse.”
WHEN you’ve been given a bloody nose the only thing to do is fight back. And though it’s taken time to recover from the battering they’ve suffered these past weeks, now at last the counter-attack has begun.
The hammer-blows delivered by Harry and Meghan, by Prince Andrew, and by the failed marriages of Peter Phillips and Lord Snowdon, have bruised the royal brand and left it looking weak and in disarray. Never, since the Princess Diana crisis more than 30 years ago, have they looked so vulnerable.
And for good reason.always at the forefront of any scrutiny of the Royals is the question “Are we getting value for money?” and when we see £2.4million squandered on a royal home that’s been abandoned, when we see a disgraced royal Duke still enjoying most of the expensive trappings of royalty, hard questions are always going to be asked.
For once, though, it would appear the Royals have co-ordinated their response. Too often in the past the offices of the Queen, her heir, and his successor have done little to synchronise their joint efforts to promote the royal brand. Now, though, a new strategy seemed to be emerging. Prince Charles led the counter-attack with a heavyweight reminder of his 50 years of public service and his half-century contribution to the environment debate.
The recent pictures of him joshing around with Princewilliam at a wheelchair basketball photo-op were just the medicine most royalists needed – a strong show of unity at a time of weakness.
And the news that William and Kate will visit bushfire victims in Australia is a hefty reminder that the foremost job of Royals is to convey our compassion and sympathy to those around the world who need it most.
Kate, long criticised in some quarters for her light workload and often dreary clothes, put her shoulder to the wheel and in taking part in last week’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast and talking about her own experiences as a young mother, made a whole new audience warm towards her.
Even the 93-year-old Queen looked proactive by issuing a statement saying Harry and Meghan may not use their “Sussex Royal” brand to promote their business interests, indicating that Palace resources would no longer extend to the young couple having an office under her roof.
Furthermore the announcement that the
Sussexes will attend the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey next month along with the other Royals very much looks like a command from Her Majesty – one they will disobey at their peril.
The Royals have smartly closed ranks, and finally created order out of disorder.
THE JOB isn’t finished. Prince Andrew remains the Royal Family’s unexploded bomb. Public opinion remains divided between those who believe he’s “innocent until proven guilty”, and those who believe Andrew should now cooperate with investigating officers to help lay to rest the Jeffrey Epstein ghost.
What’s not in doubt is the damage he’s done, and continues to do while the investigation continues, to the royal reputation at home and abroad. He’s still there, though, inside the royal compound.
With the House of Windsor, there’s no such thing as a public climbdown but the fact remains that for the first time last week, Government buildings were not obliged to put out flags to celebrate Andrew’s 60th birthday, and church steeples remained silent, bells unrung, on a day which might otherwise have reminded us of his patchy but sometimes worthwhile service.there are strong arguments for following this through with a complete break with the Duke of York, allowing him to retire into obscurity.a portrait released on Instagram to mark his birthday and an expensive party at Windsor Castle were not, perhaps, the best way of moving forward.
Meanwhile, 5,000 miles away, what does Prince Harry make of these developments? Schooled in royal traditions since birth, he now sits in limbo on Vancouver Island, separated from lifelong friends, from his family, and from the lifesupport system that has kept him in such comfort all his life.
Gone are the servants who catered for his every whim. Gone is the never-ending money supply – the clothes, the cars, the houses and holidays, and the people who opened a door for him.
Gone, for now at least, are the red carpets and the people who bow low. Gone are the admiring headlines, gone is the loving granny who constantly reassured him. Gone is the father to whom he could turn in moments of crisis.
Harry has forsaken all this for a woman he desperately loves.that’s perhaps understandable. But separated by thousands of miles from the royal system which nurtured and protected him, how does he now view his decision to cut loose?
In these past few days he will have seen that the newly-invigorated Royal Family can get on perfectly well without him.
Only time will tell whether he can get on without them.
● Christopher Wilson is author of
The Windsor Knot: Charles, Camilla, And The Legacy Of Diana
‘Andrew remains an unexploded bomb and Harry now sits in limbo in Canada’