Question Time: Meghan and Harry are ‘utterly irrelevant to this country’, minister says
Tory MP said he plans to bring forward proposed legislation that could eventually strip the Sussexes of their royal titles
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been branded an irrelevance to the UK by a Government minister, as they faced a call to be stripped of their royal titles.
Speaking on Question Time, Employment minister Guy Opperman said the couple are “utterly irrelevant” to the progress of the UK and the royal family.
He said on Thursday night’s programme: “I think they are clearly a very troubled couple, which I think anybody looking at them can say is a sad state of affairs.
“That having been said, I agree that they are utterly irrelevant to this country and the progress of this country and the royal family that we all, I believe, support.
“I don’t think it has a fundamental impact on the royal family. I certainly won’t be watching it,” he continued.
“I would urge everyone to boycott Netflix and make sure that we actually focus on the things that matter.”
However, he said the extent to which the couple’s lives were “picked over” by the media when they were living in the UK was “unacceptable”.
Mr Opperman said: “I do think there is a legitimate question as to media intrusion into some people’s private lives.
“That is an ongoing debate, which quite clearly the degree of extent to which their lives are picked over is something that, when they were living here, was unacceptable.”
Harry, who moved to the US to live with his wife Meghan, has been criticised for attacking institutions in Britain during the couple’s tell-all Netflix documentary.
In it, Harry accused the royals of having a “huge level of unconscious bias” and Meghan said the media wanted to “destroy” her.
It comes as Conservative MP Bob Seely said there is a “political issue” with Harry’s comments, since he quit as a senior working royal more than two years ago.
Mr Seely said he plans to bring forward proposed legislation that could eventually strip the couple of their royal titles.
The Isle of Wight MP suggested he could bring forward a short private members’ bill in the new year that, if passed, would see MPs vote on a resolution that could give the Privy Council the power to downgrade the couple’s royal status.
He said he had been thinking about the bill even before the Netflix documentary emerged, telling the PA news agency: “There is a political issue.”
Mr Seely added: “As well as trashing his family and monetising his misery for public consumption, he is also attacking some important institutions in this country.”
Harry and Meghan signed lucrative deals, thought to be worth more than £100 million, with Netflix and Spotify after quitting as senior working royals, with the docuseries the first major output for them on the streaming giant.
Mr Seely asked why Harry continues to use his title of duke, while “at the same time trashes the institution of monarchy and his family”.