Harry and Meghan could be stripped of their Sussex titles in the new year via a vote in the House of Commons, a MP has suggested.
The Netflix documentary which aired yesterday has now become “a political issue”, according to Conservative MP Bob Seeley.
Harry, who moved to the US to live with his wife Meghan after parting ways with the royal family two years ago, has come under fire for attacking major institutions in Britain during the couple’s revealing Netflix documentary.
In it, Harry accused the royals of having a “great level of unconscious bias” and Meghan said the media wanted to “destroy” her.
Seely said he plans to introduce proposed legislation that could eventually strip the couple of their royal titles.
The Isle of Wight MP suggested he could introduce a short Private Members Bill in the new year which, if passed, would see MPs vote on a resolution that could give the Privy Council the power to demote royal status. of the couple.
He said he had been thinking about the bill even before the Netflix documentary came out, saying: “There is a political problem.”
Seely added: “In addition to tearing his family apart and monetizing his misery for public consumption, he is also attacking some important institutions in this country.”
Harry and Meghan signed lucrative deals, believed to be worth more than £100m, with Netflix and Spotify after stepping down as senior royals, with the docuseries the first major outing for them at the streaming giant. .
Seely asked why Harry continues to use his title of duke, while “at the same time trashing the institution of the monarchy and his family.”
On Thursday, Telegraph readers were asked if Harry and Meghan should lose their titles as Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
By Friday morning, the poll received more than 18,000 responses, with an overwhelming 94 percent agreeing that they should be stripped of their royal titles.
You can still give your opinion below.
Meanwhile, Employment Minister Guy Opperman has said the couple are “totally irrelevant” to the progress of the UK and the royal family.
He told BBC Question Time: “I think they are clearly a very troubled couple, which I think anyone looking at them can tell is a sad state of affairs.
“Having said that, I agree that they are completely irrelevant to this country and the progress of this country and the royal family that we all, I think, support.”
He added: “I don’t think it will have a fundamental impact on the royal family. I certainly won’t be watching. I urge everyone to boycott Netflix and make sure we really focus on the things that matter.”
However, he said the extent to which the couple’s lives were “selected” by the media when they lived in the UK was “unacceptable”.
Opperman said: “I think there is a legitimate question about media intrusion into some people’s private lives. That’s an ongoing debate, that clearly the degree to which their lives are manipulated is something that, when they lived here, was unacceptable.”
In the documentary, whose fourth, fifth and sixth episodes will be released next Thursday, Harry said his family members questioned why Meghan needed more media protection than their wives had received, but he said they didn’t understand. the “racial element”.
The couple took aim at the British press, with Meghan claiming “salacious stories” had been “planted” in the run-up to their wedding, and the couple saying they were “playing mole” when the articles appeared.
Harry also spoke about what he called the “unconscious bias” of the Windsors.
The third episode of the documentary touched on an event in 2017 when Princess Michael of Kent wore a blackamoor-style brooch that was deemed racist.
Harry said: “In this family, sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. There is a great level of unconscious bias.
“The thing with the unconscious bias, it’s not really anyone’s fault. But once it has been pointed out or identified within yourself, you must correct it. it’s education it’s awareness. It’s a constant work in progress for everyone, including me.”
After the documentary aired, a dispute erupted over whether the royal family and the palaces had the right to respond to the couple’s controversial show.
A senior palace source said Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and family members have not been contacted for comment on the content of the series.
However, a Netflix source said the communications offices of the King and Prince of Wales were contacted in advance and given the chance to react to Harry and Meghan’s claims.
Both Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace confirmed that they received an email purporting to be from a third-party production company from the address of an unknown organization and attempted to verify its authenticity with Archewell Productions and Netflix, but never received a response.
Yes I do believe Harry and Megan should be stripped of their titles. They are no longer working royals through choice and therefore not entitled to unearned titles or benefits of any kind. Their documentary is spiteful and does its best to trash a much respected royal family. They want their cake and eat it too – which is not appropriate.