The Royals Just Made Another Move to Distance Prince Harry but Experts Say King Charles Is Protecting His Titles

Though the royal website still lists Queen Elizabeth as monarch and reads “Prince Charles” rather than “King Charles,”the royal family did make one recent change — and it was to Prince Harry’s title.

On Friday, Express reported Harry was still being referred to as “His Royal Highness” on the royal website, despite the 2020 decision that he would be stripped of the “HRH” title after stepping down as a working member of the family. By Tuesday, the outlet followed up with new reports that Harry’s title had been updated from “HRH” to “the Duke or the Duke of Sussex.”

According to Express, Buckingham Palace released a statement addressing the story’s criticism of the many instances of outdated information on the site. It read: “The Royal Family website contains over five thousand pages of information about the life and work of the Royal Family. Following the death of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, content has been revisited and updated periodically. Some content may be out of date until this process is complete.”

Though Harry’s HRH title is slowly being removed, royal author Robert Jobson speculates his Duke of Sussex title will never be stripped. Jobson told Express, “I was at Royal Ascot the other day and I met a source, who is quite close to the Royal Family. I said, ‘Well, what about all this stuff about stripping titles? If you’re going to have a President Meghan, then surely, they’re not going to want to have their royal titles and they will be kicked out of the line succession?’”

Jobson continued, “He absolutely categorically said, that’s just not going to happen. So even though they’ve got their royal titles and people demanded they get rid of them, they’re going to lose that.” He explained, “The reality is there’s no point, they say, in changing that. It’s just going to rock everybody and create a story that will shake the Hornet’s Nest again. And as a result, it’s not going to achieve anything,” he concluded.

Prince Harry was given the title of Duke of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth in 2018 when he and Meghan Markle wed. As a gift from his late grandmother, Jobson speculates that King Charles will allow Harry to retain the title despite his estrangement.

Click here to see a complete timeline of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s feud with the royal family.