Royal rift deepens: Prince William reportedly planning to strip Meghan of HRH title when he becomes King

Prince William is reportedly planning to strip his brother Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle of their royal titles when he becomes king.

Meghan has inflamed tension over the issue this week after she sent a podcaster a gift basket of homemade strawberry sauce with a note signed, “With the Compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex” following her appearance on the Jamie Kearn Lima Show.

She also raised eyebrows last week when she posted a photo of a letter addressed to her as HRH from the vice president of Ukraine.

Using the HRH title risks breaching the ‘Megxit’ deal sealed with Queen Elizabeth when Prince Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties, escaping England for a new life among their celebrity friends in the US.

It also risks further enraging Prince William who has already shunned the couple after Megxit, the publication of Prince Harry’s damaging memoir Spare and their eponymous Netflix documentary.

During what was dubbed the Sandringham Summit in January 2020, Harry and Meghan agreed to step down as working members of Britain’s monarchy and instead pay their own way in life.

Part of the deal was that they would also give up using their “HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the royal family”, the palace said in a statement at the time.

A Meghan source, however, told The Daily Beast: “Harry and Meghan retain their HRH titles; however, by agreement, they do not use them for commercial purposes. While they do not publicly use ‘HRH,’ this was a personal gift, and their titles remain.”

A former royal courtier has called this “complete rubbish” and claimed the Sandringham agreement was that they would not use the HRH titles “at all, ever, in any capacity”.

“Charles might be happy to put up with this, but William won’t. He loathes and despises Harry and Meghan with every bone in his body, he believes they have betrayed everything the family stands for and the idea that they are using their royal status as a calling card will enrage him,” the source said.

A friend of William told The Daily Beast that Meghan’s use of the HRH title showed how “enfeebled” King Charles had become.

“Charles has completely lost control. It’s apparent that Harry and Meghan have every intention of making his final years a misery, just as he feared they would,” he was quoted as saying.

“Meghan using her HRH exposes how weak and enfeebled he is. She knows he won’t do anything.

“There is no way King William will stand for this. The titles will simply be removed when he is king. A way will be found.”

After departing Britain, Meghan and Harry sealed a number of multi-million dollar deals, including with Netflix and Spotify.

Most recently Meghan has launched her own homewares brand, As Ever, to flog jams, teas and “flower sprinkles”.