Prince William plans to take away Prince Harry’s children’s HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles when he becomes king, according to a new report. The idea came after a bold move by Prince Harry that reportedly shocked royal insiders. The detail was quietly included in a story published by The Guardian nearly 10 days ago.
“The Guardian understands that Prince Harry wants to keep the HRH titles for his children so that when they grow older they can decide for themselves whether they want to become working royals, or stay out of public life.”
The detail about removing the HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles wasn’t widely noticed in royal circles until journalist Richard Eden highlighted it in the Daily Mail this week. After that, it quickly spread among royal insiders on WhatsApp.
Most reactions were either dismissive or shocked.
A friend of Prince William told The Daily Beast:
“William obviously isn’t going to hire Archie and Lilibet. This is just trolling on the part of Harry and Meghan. It’s actually hilarious that no one even noticed it for ten days, until the Mail did it.
“The idea that somehow having a vestigial HRH as a baby later entitles you to be a working royal is beyond parody, even for them.”
A friend of Prince William said Harry and Meghan had agreed to stop using their HRH titles when the queen asked them to, so it made sense their children wouldn’t use them either. They claimed Meghan had broken that agreement by using her HRH again and suggested she might try to use the titles for her children to boost her own image. This, they argued, strengthened the case for officially removing the titles.
Another family friend also believed the HRH titles would eventually be taken away. They explained that HRH is not actually a title but a formal way of addressing someone. It doesn’t give any official role or rank, unlike being a duke or duchess.
“An HRH is bestowed by letters patent—which is basically a fancy way of saying it is a legally binding royal decree—and by precedent an HRH can be taken away by royal decree also. Look at Diana and Fergie. The HRHs weren’t removed ‘because they got divorced,’ the rules were quietly changed to remove HRHs from royal exes. There is a difference.”
The friend added: “They have asked the Sussexes politely to stop using the style, to no avail.”
King Charles may want to avoid conflict, but Prince William is said to strongly dislike Harry and Meghan, and once he becomes king, he’s expected to take action against them.
Harry and Meghan had promised Queen Elizabeth in 2020 that they would stop using their HRH titles after stepping back from royal duties. However, Meghan has reportedly gone back on that promise by using the title in private and allowing others to refer to her with it.
