Meghan Markle drops title after exit from royal family

Smart Works charity, where Markle is patron, on Saturday scrubbed its website of all mentions of her as either an "HRH” or "royal."

Smart Works charity, where Meghan Markle is patron, on Saturday scrubbed its website of all mentions of her as either an "HRH” or "royal."

Megan Sims

Mar 22, 2020

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Meghan Markle and husband Prince Harry are no longer their royal titles.

The change became apparent when on Saturday, Smart Works, a charity where Markle is a patron, removed all mentions of her as either “HRH” or “royal” on the group’s website. The charity, which just last year unveiled a capsule collection to help women find employment, has now replaced “Our Royal Patron,” with “Our Patron, The Duchess of Sussex,” according to People.

Markle and Harry struck an agreement with Buckingham Palace in February to exit their royal duties without keeping their royal titles. The decision erupted in controversy, with Harry offering harsh criticisms of members of the British media for their vicious attacks on Markle and their son, Archie.

“While The Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organization, given the specific U.K. government rules surrounding use of the word ‘Royal,’ it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organization, when it is announced this Spring, will not be named Sussex Royal Foundation,” a spokesperson said in a statement about the couple’s decision, writes People.

Prior to Smart Works changing Markle’s title on its website, People reported that Harry asked in February to simply be introduced as Harry when he participated in the Travalyst working summit in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Even as the couple transitions away from their royal duties, their Sussex Royal website and Instagram pages remain active.

View this post on Instagram

No matter what you call your mum, this Mother’s Day in the UK, we honour the mums all over the world who do so much every single day, and now more than ever. Thank you ❤️

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Mar 22, 2020 at 7:54am PDT

And though many have speculated about inner turmoil among members of the royal family after Markle and Harry’s exit, People says that the Queen still considers the couple to be much loved members of the family.