Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have shared their desire to be known as 'public figures' rather than 'private citizens', with the Duke wanting their royal status recognised by the King.
On Monday, Buckingham Palace issued a letter of 'guidance' on King Charles' behalf, confirming that the couple have not returned to the UK as working royals. A spokesman for the Sussexes quickly fired back at the announcement, claiming: "We were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance". The publication of the letter, according to their rep, caught the Sussexes off-guard.
Then came the rebuttal. Palace sources said that this was 'incorrect', insisting that Harry and Meghan had received the letter before it was sent to senior Government officials, the military and Lord-Lieutenants. It's understood that the couple were told of the letter an hour before it was made public. They weren't, however, consulted on its contents.
Public figures vs private citizens
The saga took another turn when an astounding briefing dropped via the Telegraph on Tuesday. It read: "The Duke is understood to have taken particular issue with the notion that the couple were to be treated as private citizens."
If that were the case, it was claimed, such formal guidance would not be required. The Sussexes prefer the term 'public figures', and would have liked an acknowledgement that, on a personal level, they remained members of the Royal Family, despite no longer receiving public funding.
The war of words is painfully reminiscent of public briefing battles that became the cornerstone of their 2020 departure. But in the years since their self-exile to the US, the Sussexes have seemingly made it their mission to cling onto their royal status and honorifics on numerous occasions.
Critics suggest that their desire to be recognised as royals after spending years complaining about the very institution that awarded them with such accolades is glaringly hypocritical. But the couple argue that it is their hereditary right...
Viral Duchess drama
When Meghan graced the glossy cover of Harper's Bazaar last December, one detail from her in-depth interview went viral - the way she was announced when walking into a room.
The magazine writer visited a luxury New York home of one of Meghan's friends to conduct their interview and noted: "The house manager announces, 'Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,' even though we appear to be the only other two people in the house."
While the formality of being introduced by her full title in a relatively casual setting does not break royal protocol, it raised eyebrows given Meghan has previously insisted in her bombshell Oprah interview that the 'grandeur' of titles did not matter to her.
Staff 'demand'
A close colleague of Harry once revealed how Meghan asked to be referred to during a meeting. Scott Moore was appointed chief executive of the Duke's Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 and met Meghan a year before during a "One Year To Go" event.
"I did make sure to ask how I should be addressing them when they get here," he explained, according to the Daily Mail. He was told that simply: "Ma'am' is fine." Meanwhile, he was told "Sir" was the suitable way to address Harry.
Traditionally, male members of the Royal Family are first addressed as 'Your Royal Highness', followed by 'Sir', while female members are referred to as 'Your Royal Highness', and then 'Ma'am'.
However, following Harry and Meghan's decision to quit life as senior working royals in 2020, they were stripped of their HRH titles. This means they can no longer be addressed as Your Royal Highness, though they retain their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles.
Archie and Lilibet 'U-turn'
In a sensational sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey back in 2021, Meghan suggested that her son Archie was denied his birthright title of prince by the Palace and that the decision was at odds with royal protocol.
Telling the talkshow host that "it's not their right to take away," the Duchess seemed upset over the "idea of the first member of colour in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be".
When asked by Winfrey "Do you think it's because of his race?", Meghan said: "In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we [had] the conversation of he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title." She also claimed that there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born".
After days of crisis talks, and William telling a reporter that the "we are very much not a racist family", the then-Queen issued a statement in response to the allegations. "The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately."
Royal protocol set out by King George V dictates that the children and grandchildren of a sovereign have automatic rights to the title HRH and prince or princess. But when Archie was born in 2019, he was the great-grandchild of a sovereign, not a grandchild. This meant that Archie only became entitled to the prince title when Charles took the throne. A royal source said at the time that "the Palace says it's nothing to do with race".
Despite her claims, Meghan told Winfrey that she didn't have an "attachment" to royal titles. "All the grandeur surrounding this stuff is an attachment I don't personally have," she said. "I've been a waitress, an actress, a princess, a Duchess - I've always still just been Meghan, right? I've been clear on who I am, independent of all that stuff, and the most important title I'll ever have is mom. I know that."
However, the tide changed after Charles ascended to become King. In 2023, the couple announced that they did not want to deny their children of "their birthright". Alongside the announcement that Lilibet had been christened in California, Harry and Meghan decided that they wanted their children to adopt royal titles, despite the fact that Meghan and Harry can no longer use HRH titles. It's been claimed that the couple made this decision after speaking to Harry's cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Harry's clapback
A YouGov survey conducted in December 2022, when their exit was still rather raw, showed that nearly half of the British public believed Prince Harry should have his title removed.
In a sit-down TV interview to promote his controversial memoir Spare a year later, the Duke skirted around the subject. CBC's Anderson Cooper asked: "Critics say the duke and duchess are cashing in on their royal titles while they still can. Why not renounce your titles as duke and duchess?"
To which Harry simply replied: "And what difference would that make?"
'Meghan Sussex'
More recently in 2025, the Duchess shared her desire to be known as 'Meghan Sussex'. On her Netflix cooking show With Love, Meghan, the former Suits actress corrected pal Mindy Kaling for referring to her by her maiden name.
"You have kids and you go 'No, I share my name with my children'. I didn't know how meaningful it would be to me but it just means so much to go 'This is OUR family name'. Our little family name," Meghan said. Awkwardly responding to the blunder, Mindy replied: "Well, now I know and I love it".
But when the lifestyle brand owner appeared as a guest judge on Masterchef Australia, she told co-stars to simply refer to her as Meghan. "Welcome. Do I call you Duchess?" judge Poh Ling Yeow asked, to which the Duchess said in response: "Oh, call me Meghan. Absolutely, yeah."
'Princess' riddle
Elsewhere, Meghan has referred to herself as a 'princess' despite never being publicly given that title.
In her 2022 interview with The Cut, she said: "It's important to be thoughtful about it because - even with the Oprah interview, I was conscious of the fact that there are little girls that I meet and they're just like, 'Oh my God, it's a real-life princess.'"
Telling reaction
In his debut book William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, the Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers revealed Meghan's telling response to her new life as a royal before it all came crashing down in 2020.
"One former staff member recalled how when Meghan was told she would be in line for a royal title her excitement was palpable," he writes. According to the source, "She started saying 'I'm going to be a Duchess, can you believe it? I am going to be a Duchess' – she was almost leaping out of her seat".
