A royal expert has claimed that Prince William could strip Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of their royal titles when he becomes monarch.
The expert, Kinsey Schofield, told Sky News Australia that Harry and Meghan would reportedly lose their titles after William takes to the throne whenever his father King Charles dies.
In a statement on the channel, Kinsey claimed that she had it on “good authority” that this was what William intended to do.
She claimed: “I have it on good authority that Prince William wants to strip them [Harry and Meghan] of their titles and the Sussexes would like reassurance that he won’t do that, knowing how much it would hurt their commercial opportunities.”
Kinsey’s comments were in response to backlash against Meghan for using her royal titles over five years on from her and Harry’s departure from the Royal Family in 2020.
In a post on Instagram, Meghan shared a message in which she addressed herself and Harry as “Your Royal Highness” despite a ban on the use of that title.
The message was a letter from Ukraine’s vice president that began with those three crucial words and was thus not a title used by Meghan herself, but rather a dignatory from another country.
The sender of the letter wrote: “Your Royal Highness, I would like to express my sincere thanks for everything your family is doing for Ukraine.
“Demining will allow millions of displaced Ukrainians to return home, and allow thousands of children to go to school without fear. This means so very much to all of us.”
The sharing of the letter, and using of the controversial titles, follows Harry’s secret trip to Ukraine to support wounded soldiers. Despite this positive trip by the Duke, the focus has remained on the three-word phrase used by a Ukrainian official.
Speaking to the Daily Beast about the matter, a friend of current monarch King Charles claimed Meghan was making the situation worse, reports GB News.
They said: “It’s outrageous. Every time you think they can’t make it worse, they make it worse. The deal with the HRH was a way to stop them cashing in while letting them walk away with pride and dignity and trust, and now Markle is using her HRH on a website which seems to exist to sell jam.”
Meanwhile, another royal source has claimed that Meghan is “testing the water” as her relationship with other senior royals evolves.
They claimed: “She can say, ‘Well, I just wanted to publish this nice letter to raise awareness for Ukraine, and oops! they got my name wrong—but oh, actually, now I think of it, I never gave the title up anyway, and maybe I will start using it again.”
Kensington Palace has been approached for comment.