Life has changed significantly for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following their departure from frontline royal life in 2020.
Having moved across the pond to sunny California and abandoned their posts, the pair have struck up deals with streaming giants and publishers like Netflix and Penguin Random House as they seek to tell their side of the story in the big royal fallout.
But their actions haven’t been without consequences, with the number of prestigious privileges being stripped from them.
Now, Prince William has been appointed as the new Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, Prince Harry’s old unit, which is unlikely to help heal the longstanding rift between the brothers.
Express.co.uk takes a look at all the things Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have lost since leaving the royal fold.
Patronages
As Harry and Meghan transferred out of their royal roles, some of the patronages held by the couple were withdrawn, although not all of them were affected. Privately held patronages like the Invictus Games, which Harry established in 2014, remain under his leadership.
The couple returned patronages that were originally granted by the late Queen Elizabeth II. This included Meghan’s affiliation with the National Theatre, which was subsequently transferred to Camilla by the Queen in March 2022.
Princess Kate took over Harry’s patronage positions at the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Football League. He also had to step down from his position with the London Marathon Charitable Trust and relinquish his presidency of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.
Harry has hardly been quite about his frustration regarding the loss of his patronages in his memoir Spare, emphasising that the portrayal of the situation as an “agreement” between the couple and the palace is inaccurate.
Titles
Harry and Meghan are still known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and the royals alone wouldn’t be able to take these titles away.
It would take an act of parliament to strip Prince Harry of his dukedom and therefore Meghan’s duchess title.
However, they are no longer permitted use the HRH titles of His or Her Royal Highness.
The couple were also banned from using their former moniker Sussex Royal, as they are not permitted to generate money from anything including the word “royal”.
Military associations
Prince Harry served in the armed forces and therefore accrued a number of honorary military associations and titles.
These were also stripped from him, with the following titles reverting to the crown: Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Force Commandant of the Royal Air Force Base Honington, and Honorary Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Naval Commands’ Small Ships and Diving.
He is no longer permitted to wear his ceremonial royal uniform, including at his late grandmother’s funeral in September 2022.
Security
Prince Harry has been public with his anger after his royal security benefits were removed when the couple moved initially to Canada in 2020.
The couple were left to find and fund their own private security, despite Harry allegedly pleaded for the arrangement to continue, he said in the couple’s joint Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan.
He has since launched legal action against the Home Office for not allowing him to pay for his own police protection while in the UK.
