More than 43,000 people have signed a petition requesting that Prince Harry give up his royal titles.
Started by royal expert and former ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Lady Colin Campbell, the Change.org appeal aims to invite the Duke of Sussex to voluntarily request that his grandmother Queen Elizabeth puts his “royal style titles and rank in abeyance”.
It comes following Harry’s decision to step back from his role as a full-time royal in 2020 and relocate to America with his wife the Duchess of Sussex and their two-year-old son Archie.
The purpose of the petition is described on Change.org in a post that reads: “As a purely private citizen, with no royal rank, style or title, he (Harry) will be able to indulge his personal beliefs, as is the right of all private citizens, without the consequential possibility of damaging the institution of the Monarchy or relations between Friendly Powers, and will be free to articulate beliefs, no matter how objectionable, without the fallout that is otherwise inevitable as long as he possesses royal status.”
Lady Campbell was previously married to Lord Colin Ivar Campbell, the younger son of the eleventh Duke of Argyll and wrote the book ‘Meghan and Harry: The Real Story’.
The 71-year-old TV personality previously revealed that she decided to start the online petition as after speaking with “many people” she felt it “was the right thing to do” if Harry – whose father is Prince Charles and older brother is Prince William – does relinquish her royal titles then it will free him from the royal institution and allow him to pursue a media career “without consequence”.
She said: “I started it (the petition) because I think it’s the right thing to do. I have spoken to people, many people, who think it’s the right thing to do and it is the solution. It is the best solution because it frees Harry to be able to indulge himself without consequence and without doing damage to the institution of the monarchy of the British nation, the British people and himself.”
Since stepping back from the royal family, Harry, 36, and his wife Meghan, 39, sat down with a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in which the former ‘Suits’ star spoke about the mental health struggles she experienced after joining the royal family, whilst Harry recently appeared in the Apple TV+ docuseries ‘The Me You Can’t See’ in which he openly discussed how his mother Princess Diana’s tragic death at the age of 36 in 1997 has affected his entire life.
In October 2020, the couple launched Archewell Inc., which focuses on non-profit activities and creative media ventures.