A royal expert has demanded that Prince Harry be stripped of his titles following a joke aimed at US President Donald Trump during a television appearance. The Duke of Sussex appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday, where he took part in a comedy skit about becoming a Hallmark Christmas prince.
During the sketch, Colbert questioned why an actual prince would want to star in such films, to which Harry replied: 'You Americans are obsessed with Christmas movies, and you're clearly obsessed with royalty, so why not?' When Colbert challenged the idea of an obsession, Harry quipped: 'Really? I hear you elected a king,' a reference to 'No Kings' protests against the Trump administration.
Tom Sykes, editor of the Royalist newsletter, argued that Harry's titles should be removed for clarity. 'The titles must be removed, not as punishment but for clarity,' Sykes wrote. 'Removing them draws a clear blue line between Prince Harry the royal and Harry the private citizen. It protects the monarchy from his volatility.'
Sykes noted that Harry's status as a prince still carries weight in the American imagination, and his comments are seen as representative of the monarchy. 'A global audience does not grasp that Harry isn’t still a part of the Windsor family business,' he added.
Harry has long been critical of Trump, who in 2020 called the Sussexes 'very disrespectful to the royal family' after they stepped back from royal duties. Meghan Markle has also previously described Trump as 'divisive' and a 'misogynist'. The jibe comes months after Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made a state visit to the UK, where both Trump and King Charles spoke warmly of bilateral ties.
