It's time to close the curtains on "Sussex Royal," the moniker that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry adopted as a married couple and have continued to use in their branding efforts as they transition into a new kind of life together. In a statement from Buckingham Palace given to royal reporter Omid Scobie, the Palace confirms: "It has therefore been agreed that their nonprofit organization, 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."
Back in January, after announcing their decision to step back as "senior members" of the royal family, Meghan and Harry applied to formally trademark "Sussex Royal," which is the name of their Instagram page and their website. (The moniker is pretty easy to decipher—they're the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and also, you know, royal.) The idea seemed to be that the couple would be able to use the moniker for their upcoming nonprofit, as well as for any merchandise they sell. But that trademark request was formally opposed, which paved the way for a month-long wrangling inside the Palace over whether the couple would get to use the word "royal" for the financial benefit of themselves and for their nonprofit—for their individual brand, in short, rather than the royal family's.
The answer is...no, they will not. Although they will their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles, as per a Palace announcement in January, the duo will lose their HRH titles and the ability to use the term "Sussex Royal" for branding purposes. They will remain members of the royal family—that much has always been clear—but won't be allowed certain privileges (like their former moniker, it seems). The trademark request has been dropped along with the announcement.
Here's the full statement:
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.
Therefore the trademark applications that were filed as protective measures, acting on advice from and following the same model for The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been removed.
All of this will formally go through when Meghan and Harry begin the next chapter of their lives on March 31 (so they won't have to choose their new moniker immediately and beg Instagram to hand over the handle, I guess). There's a 12-month review period over this new "arrangement," but it's anybody's guess what happens next if, say, the Palace disapproves with how Meghan and Harry are handling things.
So it's time to place bets on exactly what their new moniker will be, and what their foundation will be named after. The Sussexes? The Sussex Family? The Markles? (I can dream, okay?)
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