A royal expert believes the Duke of Sussex should be stripped of his royal titles to send a message to the US public, after he made a joke about President Trump
A royal expert has called for Prince Harry to be stripped of his titles for the sake of ‘clarity’ after he took a jab at US President Donald Trump during a recent TV appearance.
The Duke of Sussex made a surprise appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday, in which he featured in a comedy skit portraying himself as he tries out to become a Hallmark film ” Christmas prince”. Colbert questioned why an actual prince would wish to star in such productions, leading Harry to respond: “You Americans are obsessed with Christmas movies, and you’re clearly obsessed with royalty, so why not?”
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When Colbert challenged the notion of an American “obsession,” Harry wisecracked: “Really? I hear you elected a king,” in what appeared to be a nod to the “No Kings” demonstrations aimed at the Trump administration.
Alluding to CBS’ recent settlement with Mr Trump, the duke jested that he would “do anything” to land the role, stating: “I’ll record a self-tape, I’ll fly myself to an audition, settle a baseless lawsuit with the White House – all the things you people in TV do.”
In response to Harry’s jibes, a royal expert believes Harry should be stripped of his titles to make it clear to the US public that his views and comments are his own, and do not reflect that stance taken by the Royal Family.
Harry’s comments about Trump just months after the US leader and First Lady travelled to the UK for a whirlwind state visit, in which both Trump and King Charles spoke fondly about each other and the relationship between the two nations.
Tom Sykes, editor of the Royalist newsletter on Substack, wrote: “I think the Royal Family has no real choice. Harry believes he’s free to speak his mind now that he’s no longer a working royal.
“I think if he were truly living as Harry Wales, a private citizen, that argument would hold water. But he isn’t Harry Wales. He’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. And in the American imagination, he still carries the full aura of a prince — a representative of the monarchy.
“A global audience does not grasp that Harry isn’t still a part of the Windsor family business. Charles and William may be hundreds of miles away in Balmoral or Windsor, but in the American mind they are standing just offstage as Harry delivers his punchlines.”
Sykes concluded by saying: “The titles must be removed, not as punishment but for clarity. Removing them draws a clear blue line between Prince Harry the royal and Harry the private citizen. It protects the monarchy from his volatility.”
Prince Harry has long been vocal about his dislike of the American president, with Trump responding that the Sussexes “were very disrespectful to the royal family” when they decided to step back from their royal duties in 2020. Meghan Markle has also been outspoken in her stance against Mr. Trump in the past, branding him as “divisive” and a “misogynist” after he called her “terrible”.
