For years and years, we’ve heard briefings from “royal sources” and “friends of Prince William,” all of whom insist that William is wrathful and consumed with hatred for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. For years, we’ve heard William soft-launch his plan to “strip” Harry and Meghan’s titles when he (William) is king. This year, they’ve added a new twist: Future King William plans to do the most to strip his niece and nephew, Lili and Archie, of their HRH styles. Well, the Mail just published this extremely dumb piece called “Harry and Meghan’s children are likely to lose their titles – but there’s only one way for William to do it while keeping his hands clean. Another royal household has already shown him the way.” I will save you a lot of time: Sharon Hunt wants King Charles to be the one “strip titles,” thus leaving William with clean hands, which is what Denmark’s Queen Margrethe did to her second son’s children.
The most well-informed royal experts are convinced it is only a matter of time before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children lose their HRH titles. The belief is that William, Prince of Wales, will make the difficult call once he becomes King, succeeding his father, Charles III.
After all, this is an edict originated by King Charles during his reign and one insiders expect William to continue – with the logic being that HRH titles should be reserved solely for working members of the family. It’s not an altogether controversial idea, although I suspect such an announcement would land like a nuclear bomb in Montecito when made official.
Ultimately, the goal is to keep the British Royal Family reputationally intact – which means minimising any noise from California – while persisting with the ‘slimming-down’ strategy which, most experts agree, is the right path for a modern monarchy. If the British are looking for a prototype, they would be wise to glance across the North Sea at how a similar title stripping situation unfolded in Denmark.
Adopting the Danish royal family’s blueprint for title removal could potentially not only keep William’s hands clean, but it may even hold the door ajar (even if by just an inch!) for a future reconciliation between the warring brothers. But it requires the agreement and participation of King Charles.
In Denmark, it all goes back to September 2022, during what would ultimately be the penultimate year of Queen Margrethe II’s reign. The monarch made the unexpected decision to ‘future-proof’ the royal family and ‘slim down’ the court. The elderly Queen, now 85, announced she had made the decision to revoke the HRH titles of her youngest son Prince Joachim’s four children: now-titled Count Nikolai, Count Felix, Count Henrik and Countess Athena. The blow was dealt by the retiring monarch, allowing them to remain a neutral party. This is the move that the British royals should be examining closely.
King Charles is 76 and undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. While still just shy of three years into his reign, his advanced age and ongoing health concerns suggest it is unlikely he will hold his position for an extended period of time. However, what the British incumbent can do during his time in charge is provide surety and stability for the next generation by making a tough call. Like Queen Margrethe did at the end of her reign, King Charles has the power to cut the HRH cord from Prince Harry’s children – once and for all confirming that their future lies beyond the Royal Family. Just as Margrethe experienced, it’s a decision almost certain to cause backlash and upset from Harry and Meghan.
First of all, I don’t actually think this is coming from William’s camp, nor is it coming from Buckingham Palace. The last time BP briefed anything about the Sussexes, it was that King Charles hopes and expects Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lili to attend his funeral and take major roles in all of the funeral arrangements. That’s not because of any affection on Charles’s part – it’s because of his own ego, that he wants his estranged son to “show up” for him in death. Also, it’s not that Charles hasn’t had ample opportunity to strip titles and make this into a bigger thing, but Charles is a ditherer by nature and at the end of the day, he doesn’t want to make a big decision on titles/styles. Why would he when William has spent the past five years screaming and wailing to everyone about all of the things he’s going to do to punish his brother?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, Cover Images, Meghan’s IG.
