Now that Queen Elizabeth is dead, the people of Sussex are speaking up: they want to strip Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle of the title of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Royal expert Hilary Fordwich shared with Fox News Digital that Meghan and Harry were “welcomed with open arms at the time” after their title appointing, but now this is no longer the case.
When these titles were given to them by the Queen shortly after they married in May 2018, the Sussex residents were happy for it. They had assumed that the Sussexes would continue to work as part of the royal family and shoulder their responsibilities. However, once they stepped away from their roles and moved to Montecito, the relationship with their subjects soured and petitions started to emerge demanding the removal of their titles. These titles are not only honorifics, being made Duke and Duchess of Sussex means that they collect huge incomes from many sources–real estate, agriculture and cultural– in the county.
“We saw the royal wedding, we saw the outpouring from the public in support of them. She was welcomed with open arms at that time. Don’t forget Prince Harry was one of the favorites. He’s plummeted in the polls now but he was one of the Royal favorites.”
The Parallel Parliament filed a petition following the couple’s move to the United States with the description reading, “The title was given to them at marriage on the basis that they would be working royals serving the monarchy. As this is no longer the case, this title cannot be used for personal financial gain. It therefore has no purpose and must be removed.”
Possibly aware of the animosity that was building against him and his wife, Harry has tried to explain why they took such a radical step as to give up their serving role in the royal family. In Apple TV+’s mental health docuseries, “The Me You Can’t See,” Prince Harry sat down with Oprah Winfrey and claimed that he received “total silence and total neglect” from the royal family in response to Meghan Markle’s difficulty adjusting.
Harry shared that he and his wife made the decision to step away after asking for help for years and receiving “total silence” from members within the royal family.
“We spent four years trying to make it work,” he continued. “We did everything that we possibly could to stay there and carry on doing the role and doing the job. But Meghan was struggling.” There was no mention of the many allegations made against his wife by numerous members of her staff, accusing her of bullying and making impossible demands.
In March 2021, Meghan and Harry sat down in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that sparked heavy backlash. Markle made serious accusations about the royal family involving racism. She claimed that there was a conversation with a member of the family and Harry around “how dark their baby was going to be.” There has never been any corroboration of these accusations of racism on the part of the royal family.
Fordwich explained that, “There has been a petition, a movement from the people of the county of Sussex, they’re supposed to represent, to remove them. Why? Because they’re taking the name but they’re not doing anything for the people of Sussex. This is a dilemma. This is not a celebrity role. It is a role of duty. So, you need to do your duty, and then hold the title. Why would anybody want the title if they don’t want to do their duty to the people of the county of Sussex? You either do or you don’t. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
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