Queen is unlikely to strip Harry and Meghan of their royal titles, experts say

The House of Commons and The House of Lords would need to approve the change

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave Mansion House in London after attending the Endeavour Fund Awards. (PA)

It is “unlikely” the Queen would strip Harry and Meghan of their royal titles because it would require an Act of Parliament, royal commentators have suggested.

Earlier this week, reports surfaced claiming that senior aides at Buckingham Palace had called on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to give up their titles.

During an appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Harry said he had experienced pain and suffering due to his father’s parenting.

The aides told Mail Online they were “appalled that he could do this to the Queen when the Duke of Edinburgh is barely in his grave”.

“When it comes to parenting, if I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I’m going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on,” Harry told Shepard.

“He’s treated me the way that he was treated. There’s a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway. Isn’t life about breaking the cycle? There’s no blame,” he said of Prince Charles.

However, unnamed senior figures told Evening Standard on Monday that there is “no appetite” to strip either Meghan or Harry of their titles. 

“The position on titles has been discussed by all parties months ago and remains the same.”

Dr Bob Morris, a senior research fellow at The Constitution Unit told The Independent that a deprivation of peerage – the removal of Harry and Meghan’s titles – would require an Act of Parliament.

This means that a statute to remove their titles would need to be passed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Morris said that historically, the deprivation of royal titles had followed proceedings for treason.

“The most recent example was the 1917 Titles Deprivation Act directed against foreigners holding British peerages who had taken up arms against the UK,” Morris said. Four royal titles were stripped by the Act.

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward has also weighed in on the comments, telling The i that is “unlikely” the Queen would remove the couple’s titles.

“I feel it would not be something the Queen would want to undertake at this stage of her reign. Perhaps Charles would remove all titles from his son when he becomes king,” she told the publication.