Though many in the media are still reeling from the shock announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have decided to step back from their positions as full-time royals, some reporters and public figures are already voicing their stance that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should lose their titles.
One of the loudest voices is an organization called The Republic. The group, which has around 22,000 Twitter followers, actively campaigns against the monarchy and is taking particular aim at Harry and Meghan’s intention to continue using their “Sussex Royal” titles despite leaving the monarchy.
“If they’re making millions from their royal status that status needs to be removed. Royal titles and positions are public offices and should be governed by the same standards as other officials and politicians. Making a private profit from public office is called corruption,” they wrote on Twitter .
The tweet was liked by over a thousand users on the social media platform.
In addition to wanting their titles gone, The Republic pointed out that Harry and Meghan should lose a vast majority of their income. Though the Sussexes claimed they would stop receiving money from the Sovereign Grant, they admitted that they still expected that 95 percent of their expenses would be covered by the Duchy of Cornwall. The Duchy is Prince Charles’s estate, which was given to him as the heir to the Crown. A particular point of contention for many anti-monarchists is that it is tax-exempt.
The motion to take away duchy money from Harry and Meghan seems to be supported by a majority of the British public. According to royal reporter Richard Palmer, a full 63 percent of the population believe that the Sussexes should not receive income from Charles.
A YouGov poll finds Prince Harry and Meghan’s decision to step back from royal life is supported by 45 per cent of Brits; 26 per cent oppose. But 63 per cent think the couple should no longer receive the Duchy of Cornwall income; only 13 per cent do.
— Richard Palmer (@RoyalReporter) January 9, 2020
In addition, the Daily Mail’s Piers Morgan is calling for the Sussexes to lose their titles as well. Morgan is known for his dislike of the former Suits actress, as he has claimed that the duchess “ghosted” him after meeting Harry.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , Morgan held no bars in a harsh takedown of the redheaded prince and his wife.
“The very future of the Monarchy may be in serious jeopardy if these two renegades have their way and become effectively a pair of rival royals bestriding the globe… destroying the royal brand one grubby deal at a time,” Morgan claimed in his argument for removing their titles.
However, even before the announcement of Harry and Meghan’s departure from royal life, there had been a petition for the pair to lose their titles.
In East Essex, nearly 4,000 residents signed a petition to get the council to debate taking away the couple’s Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles. The reason behind the move was more anti-monarchist than anti-Sussex, as the founder of the petition claimed titles were “non-democratic and symbolic of the oppression of the general public by the wealthy elite,” as detailed in a report by Elle .
Though royal courtiers have claimed that Harry and Meghan will be punished, there has been no official word on what that punishment will look like, including the future of their titles.