Royal family ‘distancing itself from Harry and Meghan’ amid HRH title change

After Harry's HRH title was stripped from the royal website, an expert warns the the Sussexes are seen as "unpredictable and unreliable" - but "need royal links for their brand". Photo / Getty Images

There appear to be some big changes happening for Harry and Meghan - and it’s not just to their HRH titles.

It seems the Firm are trying to put even more space between them and the Sussexes after changes made to the royal family’s website marked another loss for team Montecito. Now, a royal expert says the move is the latest sign the institution is “distancing” itself from Harry and Meghan.

Not only has Harry’s styling as His Royal Highness been quietly ditched on the site, but both his and his wife’s biographies have been moved even further down the homepage to appear alongside the Duke of Kent and the disgraced Prince Andrew.

The terms of the 2020 Megxit agreement stated that Harry and Meghan would lose their HRH titles after they stepped down from their positions as senior royals.

However, over the last three years, certain sections of the website have referred to Harry as HRH, seemingly in error. After a few updates made to the site on Friday, there is now no trace of any references to Harry as HRH.

Royal author Richard Fitzwilliams shared with MailOnline: “There have been several changes on the royal website, and the Sussexes now appear below the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022. Photo / AP

“This clearly shows that the royal family is distancing themselves from a couple whom they must, for obvious reasons, regard as unpredictable and unreliable.”

Fitzwilliams hinted that this could be a sign the Sussexes need to prove they can be successful on their own two feet - without the royal family.

“It was well-known that Harry and Meghan were extremely bitter at being forced to step down as senior working members of the royal family and, although they kept their titles, being unable to use them and also losing their patronages,” he said.

“However, their brand is currently inextricably linked to being royal. The challenge they face is to prove they are actually creative at doing something for themselves.”

Meghan Markle’s official biography on the site got rid of her HRH title three years ago. However, it remained in a few references, including a quote from a 2019 speech.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex created a controversial six-part docuseries being aired on Netflix called 'Harry & Meghan'. Photo / Getty Images

The title change is the latest in a string of embarrassing losses for the Montecito royals, who were recently dropped from their $20 million (NZ$33m) Spotify deal and dubbed “f**king grifters” by a senior executive of the streaming platform. Their public polling has also seen a huge slump in the last few months.

In a statement on January 18, 2020, the palace revealed: “The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the royal family.”

Harry and Meghan have kept their Sussex Dukedom and have chosen to publicly style themselves as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.