A Renewed Debate Over Titles
Princess Anne has held the title of Princess Royal since 1987, a lifelong honour granted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Meghan, however, agreed with the late Queen to stop using her HRH title after stepping back from royal duties in 2020. Despite that, gift tags reportedly bearing “HRH The Duchess of Sussex” recently resurfaced.
Fitzwilliams described the move as “the wrong way round” and “ridiculously pretentious,” especially when contrasted with Anne’s understated signature.
He also pointed to a recent Harper’s Bazaar anecdote, in which writer Kaitlyn Greenidge revealed that Meghan is still formally announced when entering a room—even if only one other person is present.
“When I enter, the house manager announces, ‘Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,’ even though we appear to be the only other two people in the house,” Greenidge wrote.
Online Reactions: confusion, criticism, and curiosity
The detail quickly spread online, sparking discussions among royal watchers and casual readers alike.
“I’m a huge Meghan defender but this is a bizarre thing to do when you only have a single guest,” one Reddit user commented.
Another questioned why Meghan continues to use any titles at all:
“I truly don’t understand. Didn’t she and Harry leave the royal family? Why keep the titles if they are not royals anymore?”
A third person added: “It’s like leaving med school halfway through and still asking everyone to call you doctor.”
