Meghan Markle has been bashed for referring to herself as “one of the most influential women” on her and Prince Harry’s new website. On Talk TV’s the Talk panel, Ian Collins, JJ Anisiobi, Emma Woolf, Penny Smith, and Kevin O’Sullivan were discussing the Sussex’s royal rebrand.
The couple recently launched their website, Sussex.com, to replace their Archewell site. It is intended to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ which ties together their media work with their charity work.
Many have criticised them for their use of their royal crests and “Duke and Duchess” title, saying they are trying to “cash in on their royal connections.
Emma Woolf said: “A. She was given that royal crest on her marriage and apparently she’s allowed to use it. B. They’re not flogging any mugs or tea towels yet on the website. They’re not yet “cashing in”.”
Kevin O’Sullivan disagreed, saying: “On that website, there are these absolutely pompous biographies of each other in which Meghan describes herself as “one of the influential women in the world”. No, you’re not!”
This is in reference to the Duke and Duchess’s biographies on the Sussex.com site, which describe Harry as a “humanitarian, military veteran, mental health advocate and environmental campaigner” and Meghan as a “feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity”.
Smith was quick to point out that Meghan has been described as such by TIME Magazine, the Financial Times, Variety Power of Women, and British Vogue.
O’Sullivan interjected: “And they’re not allowed to use the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It’s a royal title, he agreed not to use it. It’s a royal title, that’s true. Don’t peddle lies.”
Anisiobi cleared up the confusion while O’Sullivan continued ranting, saying: “He agreed not to use ‘His and Her Royal Highness’. They are allowed to use Sussex.”
The panel also discussed the couple changing the surname of their children, Archie and Lilibet, from Mountbatten-Windsor to Sussex. People frequently refer to the family as the Sussexes, much like how Prince William and Harry were given the surname Wales at school and in the military.
This choice breaks a tradition from 1960 that said future heirs of Queen Elizabeth II should be named Mountbatten-Windsor.
But a source close to the couple has leaped to their defence, and plainly stated that “Sussex is their name”.
