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Much has been made about Meghan Markle\u2019s name<\/a> this year. As she pointed out to Mindy Kaling on her Netflix show<\/a>, she\u2019s a Sussex now, and her full title is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Kaling didn\u2019t really seem to care<\/a> about all of this, but you know who did? Prince William<\/a>. Earlier this week, it became public that Meghan has been using her HRH (Her Royal Highness) title privately. William is reportedly apoplectic about this and hoping to strip Harry and Meghan of their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles once and for all when he\u2019s king. Peter Morgan, are you listening? It\u2019s time to get another season of The Crown going.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Meghan shared a screenshot of a tweet<\/a> from Yulia Svyrydenko, the first deputy prime minister of Ukraine, to her Instagram Story. Meghan had previously posted about Harry returning from Ukraine with a treat for their children, to which Svyrydenko responded, \u201cYour Royal Highness, I would like to express my sincere thanks for everything your family is doing for Ukraine.\u201d This would be a totally normal interaction, had Svyrydenko not used the \u201cRoyal Highness\u201d title.<\/p>\n A source claiming to be a friend of King Charles told the Daily Beast<\/a> that it wasn\u2019t Svyrydenko\u2019s use of the title that ruffled feathers, but Meghan sharing it. \u201cIt\u2019s outrageous. Every time you think they can\u2019t make it worse, they make it worse,\u201d the source said. \u201cI\u2019m sure the king\u2019s first reaction will be dismay, but he simply doesn\u2019t allow himself to get angry about things like this anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n In the case of Svyrydenko\u2019s tweet, it wasn\u2019t technically Meghan using that title, so no one could get that upset. But that changed earlier this week, when Meghan appeared on IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima\u2019s podcast. During their conversation, Lima mentioned that Meghan had once dropped off a gift basket of ice cream and \u201chomemade strawberry sauce\u201d to her home. In the video version<\/a> of the podcast, an image of the gift basket is shown, which includes a card that reads, \u201cWith the Compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex.\u201d<\/p>\n Why is this a big deal, exactly? The drama surrounding Harry and Meghan\u2019s titles goes back to 2020, when Harry and Meghan came to an agreement with the late Queen Elizabeth about leaving the royal family. The couple\u2019s titles were initially bestowed upon them in 2018, when they got married. Part of their parting agreement, according to a statement<\/a> released by Buckingham Palace at the time, was that \u201cthe Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.\u201d<\/p>\n To their credit, Harry and Meghan do not use their HRH titles publicly or commercially, but clearly, some of their usage has managed to make its way into the public sphere. A different source, this one a former courtier, told the Daily Beast<\/a> that while King Charles might not want to fight about all this, William certainly does. \u201cHe loathes and despises Harry and Meghan with every bone in his body,\u201d the source said. \u201cHe believes they have betrayed everything the family stands for and the idea that they are using their royal status as a calling card will enrage him.\u201d This may seem like an outsize reaction to someone privately using a title on their own personal stationery, but it really is that deep for these people.<\/p>\n One friend of William\u2019s even said that the future king is so ticked off, he\u2019s now planning to strip his brother and sister-in-law of their titles once he\u2019s on the throne. \u201cMeghan using her HRH exposes how weak and enfeebled [Charles] is,\u201d they said. \u201cShe knows he won\u2019t do anything. There is no way King William will stand for this. The titles will simply be removed when he is king. A way will be found.\u201d<\/p>\n Ominous, and also maybe impossible. If William really is jonesing to strip all of Harry and Meghan\u2019s titles, he has an uphill battle ahead of him. The laws around removing a royal title are not well defined, and while some people think the monarch should be able to strip someone of their title, none of them have ever done that.\u00a0If you marry into the royal family and then get divorced, you lose your title, but that\u2019s about as far as it goes. In 2022, a bill<\/a> was introduced into Parliament that would allow the king to remove titles, but it hasn\u2019t gone anywhere.<\/p>\n That being said, if he\u2019s as pissed off as his friends make him out to be, William might just do whatever he wants once he\u2019s wearing the crown. Harry and Meghan could be officially banished to Montecito, forced to live out a life of putting flower sprinkles on everything and producing Netflix content. I think they\u2019ll survive.<\/p>\n Stay in touch.<\/p>\n Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n