Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Will Officially Drop “Royal” From Their Branding

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will soon no longer be known as “Sussex Royal.”

The Telegraph and other British outlets recently reported that the two faced being banned from using their self-anointed “Sussex Royal” label after stepping down as senior members of the British monarchy. A source close to the couple spokesperson for the couple later said that “as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are stepping back as senior members of the royal family and will work towards financial independence, use of the word ‘royal,’ in this context needed to be reviewed.”

On Friday, Meghan and Harry’s spokesperson said in a statement that they will no longer use the word “royal” in their brand name after their royal exit takes effect.

“While The Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organization, given the specific U.K. Government rules surrounding use of the word Royal, it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organization, when it is announced this Spring, will not be named Sussex Royal Foundation,” the statement said.  “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use ‘SussexRoyal’ in any territory post spring 2020.”

After announcing they were stepping back from the monarchy in January, Harry and Meghan launched a SussexRoyal website and also applied to trademark the Sussex Royal brand for possible use on a “wide range of goods and services, from books to clothing and educational and charitable campaigns.”

“As shared in early January on this website, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not plan to start a ‘foundation,’ but rather intend to develop a new way to effect change and complement the efforts made by so many excellent foundations globally,” Meghan and Harry wrote on their SussexRoyal website on Friday. “The creation of this non-profit entity will be in addition to their cause driven work that they remain deeply committed to.”

“While The Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organization, given the specific UK government rules surrounding use of the word ‘Royal,’ it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organization will not utilize the name ‘Sussex Royal’ or any other iteration of ‘Royal,'” the statement said. “For the above reason, the trademark applications that had been filed as protective measures and that reflected the same standard trademarking requests as done for The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been removed.”

The royal family has not commented publicly on Meghan and Harry’s statements.

It is unclear what will happen to their Instagram account name, SussexRoyal, after the ban takes effect.