Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been banned from using the ‘Sussex Royal’ brand in their new life outside the monarchy, their spokeswoman confirmed tonight.
The Duke and Duchess had been in discussions with aides about applying the word ‘royal’ to their future ventures, namely a charitable organisation.
But the Queen has poured cold water on these plans, meaning the couple will have to drop the royal moniker when they quit frontline Family duties next month.
It comes as a blow to the Sussexes, who have plowed tens of thousands of pounds into fine-tuning their website to boost their profile.
Their spokeswoman said: ‘While the Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organisation, given the specific UK Government rules surrounding use of the word Royal, it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organisation, when it is announced this spring, will not be named Sussex Royal Foundation.
‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use “SussexRoyal” in any territory post Spring 2020.’
Trademark applications that were earmarked for the charitable entity have also been withdrawn.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will no longer use their Sussex Royal brand, their spokeswoman confirmed tonight
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pictured at Buckingham Palace in 2018 with the Queen, whom they will no longer represent after March 31
While the Duke and Duchess plan to champion a charitable foundation, it was feared they could exploit the royal brand to secure lucrative commercial deals (Sussex Royal logo pictured)
Harry and Meghan have spent tens of thousands of pounds on a new Sussex Royal website, sussexroyal.com, to complement their hugely popular Instagram feed. It has now been made clear that they will need to ‘re-brand’
These applications were filed as protective measures and are understood to have not been made for commercialisation but to protect the couple’s brand from being exploited.
Tonight’s statement confirmed the revelations made by the Daily Mail earlier this week that the Queen had been left with no choice but to strip her grandson and his wife from using the Sussex Royal brand.
Harry and Meghan, who have been allowed to retain their HRH titles, have spent tens of thousands of pounds on a new Sussex Royal website to complement their hugely popular Instagram feed.
They tonight updated their website to reflect the revelation they are to drop the Sussex Royal brand.
Under ‘additional details’ it now says: ‘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.
‘The creation of this non-profit entity will be in addition to their cause driven work that they remain deeply committed to.’
They also sought to register Sussex Royal as a global trademark for a range of items and activities, including clothing, stationery, books and teaching materials.
The Sussex Royal branding this time last year, after they split their household from that of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – known as Kensington Royal.
The Sussexes’ Instagram page, @sussexroyal, has amassed 11.2million followers – the same number of fans as William and Kate’s account.
Harry and Meghan planned to slap the moniker on their new charitable foundation, due to be launched this year with the support of Buckingham Palace.
Dozens of trademark applications were made for everything from bandanas to notebooks – although sources have always stressed that these were preventative measures to protect the trademark from others, and never intended for commercial use.
The couple also privately commissioned a new website. It went live last month to coincide with their bombshell announcement, with the introduction: ‘Welcome to the Sussex Royal community, your source for information on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.’
Amid fears the couple could parade their royalty to net lucrative commercial deals, keeping the label was ruled by the Queen (pictured) as untenable
The couple’s decision to step down as senior working royals and pursue ‘financial independence’ put a spanner in the Sussex Royal works
They said on Wednesday that their lives as working royals will end on March 31 when they stop representing the Queen and become financially independent.
Harry and Meghan will uproot to Canada and have been given licence to profit from their new pared-back roles.
This month they were keynote speakers at a star-studded JP Morgan conference which wealth experts believe could have fetched them up to $1million.
But sources have stressed the couple ‘will be in the United Kingdom regularly’ and retain the same charitable goals supporting causes from the Commonwealth to mental health.
Harry and Meghan’s future relationship with the Family is still being fine-tuned, and is subject to a review in spring 2021.
The Duke and Duchess will attend the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 9, likely to be their last official appearance as working members of the monarchy, with the Queen and other senior royals.
The event is normally attended by the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and is a major engagement in Her Majesty’s calendar.
The Duke and Duchess will attend the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 9 (pictured at the event last year)