Prince Harry's HRH Title Was Removed From A Diana Exhibit At The Palace
They take that HRH pretty seriously.
It’s been 18 months since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their withdrawal from the British monarchy. Shortly after their departure as working members of the royal family, the monarchy officially shared in January 2020 that Harry and Meghan would keep their Duke and Duchess titles. But even though he’s still the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry’s HRH title was recently removed from a Princess Diana exhibit — here’s why.
Last year, Meghan and Harry’s biggest fans were delighted to learn the power couple would keep their Duke and Duchess titles. The pair is still trying to maintain an amicable relationship with the royal family, after all, and Harry and Megan continue to support the British and Commonwealth communities through their philanthropic efforts. Given he’s the son of the late Princess Diana, Harry has a strong presence in royal memorabilia, too. For example, his name is mentioned in Kensington Palace’s display of Diana’s iconic wedding dress from 1981.
Still, the Duke wasn’t able to keep all of his royal perks. Us Weekly reported on June 11 that Harry’s HRH (His Royal Highness) title was removed from the dress exhibit. When the display first opened, it had a placard reading, “Lent by HRH The Duke of Cambridge and HRH The Duke of Sussex,” in reference to William and Harry.
The title’s removal might seem shady at first. However, upon Harry and Meghan’s exit announcement last year, the monarchy clarified in an official statement that the couple would not be able to use their respective HRH titles any longer because they were not *working* members of the royal family. In 2020, CNN also noted that Meghan and Harry forgoing their HRH titles would better separate their personal ventures from the royal family’s, which makes sense.
To make things even clearer, the Royal Collection Trust (which is the entity in charge of the wedding dress display) addressed the mix-up: "Due to an administrative error, for which The Royal Collection Trust was responsible, the labels were incorrect and will be updated," they said. The new placard at Kensington now refers to Harry as simply as “The Duke of Sussex” rather than “HRH The Duke of Sussex,” while William’s title stayed the same.
So there you have it. Harry’s lack of an HRH title isn’t ~shade~. It’s just royal business.
