Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to step down as senior members of the royal family threw everyone off – and now, their new titles have too.
Earlier this week, the Palace confirmed Harry and Meghan would give up key royal duties and no longer represent the Queen in a formal capacity – giving up their HRH titles in the process.
As the statement was released, royal sources also confirmed that the pair would now be dubbed Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Sounds straightforward, right? Well, not really.
Fans and royal aides alike are still unsure over which titles to refer to Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry as.
(Getty)
According to a new report from PEOPLE, the change in their titles is in fact wrong, and they are now reviewing the names with Palace experts.
Apparently, it’s all to do with how Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson were referred to following their divorces from their respective royal spouses, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew.
Indeed both Diana and Fergie were referred to in the same way as was originally touted for Harry and Meghan – they were Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah, Duchess of York.
But in Harry and Meghan’s case, there is no divorce – far from it in fact.
Harry and Meghan were originally going to be referred to in the same way Diana and Fergie were following their divorces from their royal husbands.
(Getty)While there’s no definitive answer yet as to what Harry and Meghan’s official titles will be moving forward, for now, we can still safely refer to them as their Royal Highnesses until their transition period deadline of Spring 2020 is over.
Other royal fans have also questioned whether Harry’s spot in line to the throne will change as a result of his and Meghan’s decision to step back.
It remains to be said that Harry’s position will not change – he will remain sixth-in-line, following Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Harry and Meghan’s eight-month-old son Archie will remain seventh-in-line.
Harry and baby Archie retain their places in line to the throne.
(Dominic Lipinski / AP / Getty)Following a tumultuous few weeks for the royals, Prince Harry has now flown back to Canada where he joins Meghan and baby Archie.
The 35-year-old Prince spent his last few days in London attending several poignant events.
Last Monday, he attended the Sandringham Summit alongside the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William where a plan for himself and Meghan was put in place as they stepped back.
Following the official Palace announcement that confirmed their new arrangement over the weekend, Harry delivered a deeply moving and emotional speech about the move whilst attending a private dinner for charity Sentebale.
“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,” he told the room.
“The decision I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly… Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.”
He continued: “I’ve accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am.
“But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.”
The Duke flew to Canada on Tuesday (Australia time), where it is expected he will spend time with Meghan and Archie as they forge ahead with their new chapter.
WATCH: Prince Harry’s emotional speech as he steps down from the royal family:
