King Charles may strip Meghan Markle of her titles following a strict royal protocol, especially after a royal family set a key example.
The Duchess of Sussex has recently launched her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, and has been promoting it alongside her much-anticipated launch of lifestyle brand, As Ever.
Despite Meghan stepping down from her senior royal position in 2020 with Prince Harry, she has continued to use her titles, which were bestowed to the couple by late Queen Elizabeth on their wedding in 2018.
In the promotions for her brand, Meghan has reiterated that she is “Meghan Sussex” now. In one of the episodes of her cooking series, Meghan passive aggressively corrects pal Mindy Kaling, who referred to her as ‘Meghan Markle’.
Moreover, in the latest move, the Duchess who launched a new fashion website, chose to use her initials in the URL, which were ‘ms’ and not ‘mm’.
All these ventures have no association with the royal family. While the royal family has not yet taken any action against Meghan, the British royals have a new example set by the Swedish Royal family.
Officially known as The House of Bernadotte, the Swedish family did not spare break tradition even when it came to royal blood as she started her “private” business.
Princess Madeleine, who is the youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, announced that she is set to launch a new natural skincare line, developed in collaboration with Swiss skincare giant, Weleda.
However, she noted that since this is a “private initiative” she would not be using her royal title for it.
Moreover, Palace also shared that the “decision to start the company has been made in dialogue with the Royal Court.
“Since the new business is private and is not connected to the Princess’s position in the Royal House, the Princess will use the name Madeleine Bernadotte in business contexts,” the statement by the Swedish Royal read.
It is uncertain how King Charles or future king, Prince William will react to this new precedent, which was already set in place during the late Queen’s reign.
There are clear instructions mentioned in Section 4 (1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, which states that no member can use the royal insignia or titles for commercial use.
The section states:
“A trade mark which consists of or contains –
(a) the Royal arms, or any of the principal armorial bearings of the Royal arms, or any insignia or device so nearly resembling the Royal arms or any such armorial bearing as to be likely to be mistaken for them or it,
(b) a representation of the Royal crown or any of the Royal flags,
(c) a representation of Her Majesty or any Member of the Royal Family, or any colourable imitation thereof, or
(d) words, letters or devices likely to lead persons to think that the applicant either has or recently has had Royal patronage or authorisation, shall not be registered unless it appears to the registrar that consent has been given by or on behalf of Her Majesty or, as the case may be, the relevant Member of the Royal Family.”
