Piers Morgan slams Prince Harry and Meghan Markle over their "staggering disrespect" of the Queen

Publish Date
Tuesday, 25 February 2020, 11:15AM

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been criticised by Piers Morgan for showing "staggering disrespect" to Queen Elizabeth II after she forced them to drop the Sussex Royal brand name.

As well as giving up their HRH titles for work purposes and abandoning official appointments and patronages – including Harry's military roles – the Duke and Duchess of Sussex must now drop 'royal' from their brand name after deciding to step down as senior members of the royal family.

Following lengthy and complex talks, the Queen and senior officials agreed it was no longer tenable for the couple to keep the word "royal" in their branding.

Unhappy with the Queen's decision, the Sussexes took to their website to release a sour-sounding statement announcing they would stop using the word 'royal' in their branding, before adding that the Queen does not own the word internationally.

"As The Duke and Duchess will no longer be considered full-time working members of The Royal Family, it was agreed that use of the word 'royal' would need to be reviewed as it pertains to organisations associated with them in this new regard," the statement read.

"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."

Following their statement, Piers Morgan weighed into the royal debate, accusing Harry and Meghan of bing disrespectful to Harry's 93-year-old grandmother.

"The staggering disrespect these two keep showing to the Queen is outrageous," he said on Twitter.

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"Who the hell do they think they are?"

The couple's lives as working royals will end on 31 March when they stop representing the Queen and become financially independent.

View this post on Instagram

“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.” - The Duke and Duchess of Sussex For more information, please visit sussexroyal.com (link in bio) Image © PA

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on

Following their decision to step down, the Duke and Duchess will need to rebrand their Instagram account, which uses the name SussexRoyal, as well as the website they recently spent tens of thousands of pounds on.

The pair quit the royal family this year to start a new life together in Canada with their son Archie.  

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