PRINCE Harry may have left the royal family to live in Hollywood but he still “wants the best of both worlds”, according to a royal expert.
Ex-home office minister Norman Baker claimed on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show that the Duke of Sussex still wants benefits from his HRH title, despite stepping back from royal duties.
Royal author Norman claimed on the show: “Harry wants the best of both worlds.
“He wants to be a celebrity or independent of the royal family, ‘I’m no longer part of this family.’
“But he also wants to be called HRH, and all the benefits that flow from that.”
The former MP added: “I think he’s entitled to leave the royal family if he wants to.
“Nobody should be imprisoned by that if they don’t want to be there.
“But he can’t then hang on to the bits he wants and abandon the bits he doesn’t want, it doesn’t work that way.
“He’s just got to accept that, leaving the royal family, you should abandon HRH.”
This follows The Sun conducting a poll asking readers if they considered Harry and Meghan to be “royal” or “celebrities”.
This follows them stepping back from duties in 2020 and now living in California with Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.
The results showed 41 per cent see them as “celebrities”, 19 per cent see them as “royals” and 40 per cent see them as “commoners or non-Royals.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”FBI should investigate Prince Harry not Andrew – he lied for a visa, expert slams” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368319890112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Following the Sussexes stepping back, an official statement from Buckingham Palace confirmed: “The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.”
The Duke of Sussex was said to be “upset” at the prospect of losing his titles and patronages – with the palace confirming he would no longer hold the honorary positions.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D106153%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]The couple had around 18 royal and private patronages until the Palace’s announcement.
By August 2023, Prince Harry’s HRH title was quietly removed from the royal family website, although they kept their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles.
HRH change
After Harry and Meghan’s “stepping back” from royal duties, they no longer receive financial support from the Sovereign Grant and are considered financially independent.
Prince Harry is to appear in court to appeal a High Court judgement that upholds a Home Office decision to downgrade his security, following him no longer being a senior working royal.
Despite not being able to use their HRH titles, they have used their Sussex titles for a number of their post-royal ventures.
This includes the upcoming lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard which is “by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex.”
Meanwhile, their recent Polo series on Netflix was credited as being “executive produced by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
And the upcoming With Love, Meghan Netflix show is described as “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex invites friends and famous guests to a beautiful California estate, where she shares cooking, gardening and hosting tips.”
Prince Harry has also done a tell-all memoir called Spare giving details about the royal family.
The Duke of Sussex claimed he was knocked to the ground in a row with brother William who, he says, had called Meghan “rude” and “difficult”.
Last year, the couple jetted to Colombia in a visit that was branded a “faux-royal” tour after an invite from the country’s Vice President Francia Márquez.
The Colombia visit did give the couple a chance to champion some topics that are key in their charitable foundation Archewell.
