Harry and Meghan could be stripped of their Sussexes titles in the new year by a vote in the House of Commons, an MP has suggested.
The Netflix documentary that aired on Thursday has now become “a political problem,” according to Conservative MP Bob Seeley.
Harry, who moved to the US to live with his wife Meghan after separating from the royal family two years ago, has been criticized for attacking the royal family and Britain’s media during the tell-all Netflix documentary of the couple.
In it, Harry accused the royals of a “massive level of unconscious bias” and Meghan said the media wanted to “destroy” her.
Mr Seely said he intends to introduce proposed legislation that could eventually strip the couple of their royal titles.
The Isle of Wight MP has suggested that in the new year he could introduce a short bill for members which, if passed, would allow MPs to vote on a resolution which could give the Privy Council the power to change the royal status of the couple down.
He said he’d been thinking about the bill before the Netflix documentary came out, saying, “There’s a political problem.”
Mr Seely added: “In addition to destroying his family and monetizing his misery for public consumption, he is also attacking some important institutions in this country.”
Tim Loughton, the MP for East Worthing and Shoreham also weighed in, saying he was “embarrassed that this deeply embarrassing couple bears the title of our great county”. He added that it is “time to take back the title from someone so obviously disrespectful”.
Harry and Meghan signed lucrative deals, believed to be worth more than £100 million, with Netflix and Spotify after they retired as senior working royals, with the docuseries being the first major output for them on the streaming giant.
Mr Seely asked why Harry continues to use his title of duke while “at the same time destroying the institution of the monarchy and his family”.
Bob Seeley: If Harry doesn’t list titles, Parliament should remove them
The Isle of Wight MP doubled down on his remarks on Friday morning.
He said: “Harry and Meghan Windsor’s Netflix narcissism isn’t just about making money off misery, family dysfunction or sad soap operas.
“The royal family is part of the British constitution, and if Windsor destroys a family, he destroys it. Let’s not pretend it’s not political.
“Harry Windsor should voluntarily relinquish his titles. If he does not, Parliament must take action to remove them.
“If Harry Windsor doesn’t like the monarchy, don’t be part of it, but don’t use your titles to destroy the institution.
“Parliament experts have looked at some old laws.
“One, the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, stripped German royals of their British titles during the First World War. A change to the wording would update the law, allowing parliament to remove Harry’s titles.
The wording change would be something like the following:
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The Deprivation of Titles Act 1917 is amended as follows.
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Leave out “Enemy” in the title.
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In the title of Section 1 (Forfeiture of the title of peer or prince in the hands of the enemy), omit “in the hands of the enemy.”
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In subsection (1) of section 1, delete ‘have borne arms against His Majesty or his allies during the present war, or who have allied themselves with the enemies of His Majesty’, and replace with ‘referred to committee by a resolution of the House of Representatives’
“And hey presto, the Duke and Duchess are going to be Mr and Mrs Windsor, and they can live out the rest of their lives in privacy, while the real, ‘working’ royals can continue to serve our nation, like William and Kate (and Edward and Anne ) do that brilliantly.”
Some 94 percent of readers say they should be stripped of titles
On Thursday, Telegraph readers were asked if Harry and Meghan should lose their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
On Friday morning, the poll received more than 18,000 responses – and an overwhelming 94 percent agreed that they should be stripped of their royal titles.
You can give your opinion below.
Meanwhile, Employment Minister Guy Opperman said the pair are “completely irrelevant” to the progress of the UK and the royal family.
He told BBC Question Time: “I think they’re clearly a very troubled bunch, which I think anyone who watches them can say is a sad state of affairs.
“Having said that, I agree that they are completely irrelevant to this country and the progress of this country and the royal family that I believe we all support.”
He added: “I don’t think it has a fundamental impact on the royal family. I certainly won’t be looking at it. I urge everyone to boycott Netflix and make sure we actually focus on the things that matter.”
However, he said the extent to which the couple’s lives were “picked up” by the media when they lived in the UK was “unacceptable”.
Mr Opperman said: “I think there’s a legitimate question about media interference in some people’s private lives. That’s an ongoing debate, where the extent to which their lives are being overlooked is clearly something that, when they were living here, it was unacceptable.”
In the documentary – the fourth, fifth and sixth episodes of which will be released this Thursday – Harry said members of his family questioned why Meghan needed more protection from the media than their wives had received, but said they didn’t understand. race element”.
The couple took aim at the British press, with Meghan claiming “salacious stories” had been “planted” in the run-up to their nuptials, and the couple saying they were “playing goofball” when the articles appeared.
Harry also talked about what he mentioned the “unconscious bias” of the Windsors.
The third episode of the documentary referenced an event in 2017 when Princess Michael of Kent wore a blackamoor-style brooch that was deemed racist.
Harry said: “In this family sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. There is a huge level of unconscious bias.
“The thing about unconscious bias, it’s really nobody’s fault. But once it’s noticed, or identified in yourself, you have to make it right. It’s education. It’s awareness. It’s a constant work in progress for everyone, including me.”
After the documentary aired, an argument broke out over whether the royal family and the palaces were given the right to comment on the couple’s controversial show.
A senior palace source said Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and members of the family have not been approached for comment on the content of the series.
However, a Netflix source said the King and Prince of Wales’ communications agencies had been contacted in advance and given a chance to comment on Harry and Meghan’s claims.
Both Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have confirmed that they have received an email claiming to be from an outside production company from the address of an unknown organization and have attempted to verify its authenticity with Archewell Productions and Netflix, but have never received a reply. response received.