Prince Harry Should Drop His Royal Titles and Become a U.S. Citizen, a Royal Biographer Argues

Royal biographer Angela Levin argues that Prince Harry should renounce his royal titles and become a U.S. citizen if he continues voicing political opinions.

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  • Since the royal exit, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have taken advantage of their newfound freedom to speak out about social and political issues.
  • In 2020, Meghan gave a speech about Black Lives Matter and the couple appeared together for the TIME100 special to encourage people in the U.S. to vote. Earlier this year, Harry also publicly decried the violent attacks on the U.S. Capitol.
  • In a new interview, royal biographer Angela Levin argued that Harry should drop his royal titles and become a U.S. citizen as a result of his decision to speak on social issues.

Prince Harry has been changing course since the royal exit, and one royal biographer thinks even more changes are in order.

Following their decision to step back from royal duties, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been enjoying some of the freedoms enjoyed by private citizens that they didn't have as senior working royals—like the ability to speak out about political and social issues they care about and to encourage their fans and followers to vote. In 2020, Meghan gave a powerful speech about Black Lives Matter and she and Harry both spoke about the importance of voter registration during their interview for Time magazine's TIME100 special.

"This election, I'm not going to be able to vote here in the U.S. But many of you may not know that I haven't been able to vote in the U.K. my entire life," Harry said in the special. "As we approach this November, it's vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation, and online negativity." Earlier this month, Harry also spoke out to decry the attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

Speaking out against hate speech, misinformation, negativity, and acts of violence doesn't seem very controversial, but some royal experts think these topics are still too political for a senior, titled royal (working or not, apparently) to discuss in public.

"If he wants this sort of freedom he should drop all his titles and take American citizenship," royal biographer Angela Levin, author of Harry: A Biography of a Prince, argued in an interview with Express. "Of course having his titles has enabled him to do various lucrative deals but he can’t or shouldn’t have it both ways. I think Harry’s decision to lecture anyone on how to live, what to do and who to vote for is a misjudgment. And even more so in the United States."

Oof.

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Kayleigh Roberts
Contributing Editor at Marie Claire

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.