- In January, Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry announced they plan to step back from their senior royal family roles.
- Their official end date is March 31; Markle and Harry have been busy for the past couple weeks in the U.K. finishing their final engagements as working royals.
- While her prince would prefer to go by just Harry, Markle will be facing a few title changes as well. Below, all your questions answered.
The brilliant emerald green dress Meghan Markle wore for her final engagement as a working royal sent one clear message: When it comes to saying goodbye to her status as a high-ranking royal, all systems are go. In January, she and Prince Harry told the world they plan to move to Canada to live a quieter family life after stepping down as "senior members" of the royal family—and now, there are only a few weeks left before the resignation becomes final.
Markle's last obligation as a full-time working royal included her and Harry's appearance at the Endeavour Fund Awards in London and at the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall. Monday’s Commonwealth Day Service marked the last scheduled appearance for her, and April 1st is day-one of her and Harry's transition into post-royal life. Needless to say, a change is coming.
Beyond relocating her home base from the United Kingdom to North America, the soon-to-be non-royal is working through a number of adjustments to find her new normal—losing royal perks like personal security, lucrative duchies, and access to the queen’s lavish jewelry collection are only the tip of the iced tiara. But what about her title, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex? Below, we’re breaking down what’s changing and what isn’t, which titles she can keep and which she can’t. Stick with us, because if there’s anything that is for sure, it’s that the Brits don’t make this title thing easy.
In January, everyone freaked out with title confusion.
Just weeks after the big announcement, publications, royal watchers, and even those inside the palace were flustered over how to officially address Markle going forward. Do we follow divorced royals etiquette, keep chugging along as we always have, or do something else entirely? To make matters worse, People reported that statements were walked back after the queen had issued her own say in the matter. Luckily, we now have the official word.
Markle will still be the Duchess of Sussex.
According to Reader’s Digest, Queen Elizabeth II usually confers dukedom to senior male members of the royal family as a wedding present and gifted Harry with the Duke of Sussex title, with the Duchess of Sussex title naturally going to his wife, Markle. After her March 31 royal status expiration date, reports confirm she will continue to be known as Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
The duchess will also retain her HRH prefix. But she won’t really use it.
In February, Harry and Markle clarified the use of their umbrella HRH titles. For the uninitiated, “HRH” stands for His or Her Royal Highness. On their website, they wrote, “As agreed and set out in January, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will retain their ‘HRH’ prefix, thereby formally remaining known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.” They continued, “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer actively use their HRH titles as they will no longer be working members of the family as of Spring 2020.” So, there ya go.
She will have to drop the word royal from all branding though.
Going forward, Markle and Harry will have to nix the term royal from all correspondence, social media platforms and websites, and nonprofit ventures. It seems that with her and Harry’s initial resignation statement, the pair were hopeful to keep the Sussex Royal name in working function as their Instagram handle and foundation name, but the queen has put her foot down on that.
“Given the specific UK government rules surrounding use of the word ‘Royal’, it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organisation will not utilise the name ‘Sussex Royal’ or any other iteration of ‘Royal,’” the couple wrote on their website. “While there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word ‘Royal’ overseas, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ or any iteration of the word ‘Royal’ in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020.”
The new name for Harry and Markle’s Instagram account, website, and upcoming foundation is due out soon, so stay tuned for that.
So what’s Meghan’s last name then? Here’s where things get … interesting.
When Markle married Harry in May of 2018, she technically surrendered “Markle” to become an official royal—although you wouldn’t really know it in America, where every publication under the sun still refers to the duchess as Meghan Markle. But since we’re adhering to the sovereign’s very particular set of rules, she dropped the “Markle” and, as we’ve already discussed, ushered in several more descriptors: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex, Countess of Dumbarton and Baroness Kilkeel. It’s a mouthful. But now that she’s inching toward becoming a regular citizen and more like one of us simple folk again, that requires a good, old-fashioned first and last name. So what’s it gonna be?
According to the official royal family website, those without HRH titles are encouraged to use Mountbatten-Windsor as their last name, just like little Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the couple’s 10-month-old son. Further options include using Sussex as their last name, as Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, use “Cambridge” for their little ones in school.
Another option: Meghan could nix the last name altogether and go the Beyoncé route of using only a mononym. Whichever path she does take, we can’t wait to see what she does—and wears—next.
Curious about Harry’s titles? Check out our write-up on Prince Harry’s new “just Harry” namesake.
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DeAnna Janes is a freelance writer and editor for a number of sites, including Harper’s BAZAAR, Tasting Table, Fast Company and Brit + Co, and is a passionate supporter of animal causes, copy savant, movie dork and reckless connoisseur of all holidays. A native Texan living in NYC since 2005, Janes has a degree in journalism from Texas A&M and got her start in media at US Weekly before moving on to O Magazine, and eventually becoming the entertainment editor of the once-loved, now-shuttered DailyCandy. She’s based on the Upper West Side.
