King Charles has been warned he could “re-open old wounds” if he does one thing regarding Prince Harry’s prince title. On Thursday night, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the monarch, 76, had started a “formal process” to remove the style, titles and honours of his brother Andrew, formerly known as Prince Andrew.
This comes after the non-working royal, who is now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, saw his reputation tainted by his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of sexual assault, which he denies, made by Virginia Giuffre. Although Andrew, who is also set to move out of his Royal Lodge home, has always denied accusations against him, this did not stop the King from taking such measures. While the King’s action has been well-received by the public, it has led some to believe that the monarch could take similar actions to remove titles from other working royals that distract from the work of the monarchy.
This could include Prince Harry, who published a bombshell memoir about the Firm in 2023, and his wife Meghan Markle.
It is believed the King does not want, and will not, do this to his younger son – and a brand and culture expert believes this is good, as he warned that this could be very damaging.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, brand and culture expert Nick Ede said: “While the King’s move with Andrew reinforces the values of responsibility and the consequence of actions, I think that applying the same logic to Harry and Meghan could backfire.
“They still hold a great deal of public affection, particularly among younger and international audiences.”
Mr Ede continued: “Stripping their titles might appear vindictive and reopen old wounds just as the monarchy seems to be finding its footing again. It also levels their behaviour the same as Andrews and the two are totally different.”
This was also a view shared by royal commentator Afua Hagan, who told Express.co.uk: “The two of them (Andrew and Harry) are completely different.” She went on to say that “to even mention Harry and Andrew in the same sentence, when it comes to their titles, is frankly ridiculous.”
When asked whether she thinks the King would strip his younger son, who quit life as a working royal in 2020, of his titles, the royal commentator said: “For why? For what? What would be the reason?”
The King is not believed to have any plans to take such action against his youngest son, who he recently reunited with last month after not seeing each other face-to-face for over a year.
