The Duke and Duchess of Sussex could lose their Duke and Duchess titles when Prince William takes the throne, according to a royal expert speaking on TalkTV.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to Britain with their children in late August after six years in the US. They have not publicly commented on their reasons for moving back. Their first weeks in the UK have included a public dispute with the Palace over their status, with the couple objecting to the King's description of them as "private citizens" rather than "public figures".
William's 'fury' over Sussex behaviour
On Tuesday afternoon, TalkTV presenter Kevin O'Sullivan discussed the royal fallout with expert Kinsey Schofield. The conversation turned to what Prince William might do when King Charles dies. O'Sullivan said: "He will, I think, reinstate his mother's HRH status to respect her memory. It was taken away from her rather ruthlessly by the royals before her death because she divorced the King [then Prince Charles]. But I also feel that, William, you cannot overestimate how furious he is about the way the Sussexes have behaved, and about the way his brother has behaved and is behaving."
He added: "And I believe that when William becomes King, he will reinstate Diana's HRH status, and he will take away the Sussexes' titles as Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They will be given a similar fate to that of the former Prince Andrew; of course, he is now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. They will be Mr and Mrs Harry."
'Friday Dump' distraction theory
Ms Schofield agreed and suggested William might announce the news at the same time as his mother's reinstatement to distract from the Sussexes losing their titles. She said: "If he is clever, he will do it at the same time so that we will be distracted by the Diana title and hopefully focus on that and not on Harry and Meghan losing their titles. They call it the Friday Dump, where they try to hide a story within another story. If he is clever, he will do it at the exact same time."
Viewers shared their reactions in the comments. One user wrote: "It won't be too soon for Harry and Meghan to lose their titles." Another agreed: "The titles should have been removed long ago. Private citizens don't have royal titles and are not on the royal website. While they have titles and are on the website, they will continue behaving like royals. Make them private citizens in every sense of the word." A third commented: "Harry and Meghan might as well get used to the idea of being plain Mr and Mrs because it is going to happen, and that is how the world thinks of them already anyway."
