British broadcaster Piers Morgan called for Queen Elizabeth II to strip Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, of their royal titles after Markle made public comments on the United States presidential election.
Morgan called for her title to be taken away after Markle participated in an event with When All Women Vote, an organization co-founded by former first lady Michelle Obama, telling viewers that if they “aren’t part of the solution, we’re part of the problem. If you’re complacent, you’re complicit.”
“The Queen must strip the Sussexes of their titles. They can’t remain as royals & spout off about foreign elections in such a brazenly partisan way,” Morgan tweeted.
The Queen must strip the Sussexes of their titles. They can’t remain as royals & spout off about foreign elections in such a brazenly partisan way. https://t.co/6uZ3FTbjHW
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 21, 2020
Clarifying his comments, Morgan argued that Harry and Markle are entitled to make “politically partisan statements” if they “stop trading off their royal titles.”
Morgan has been a frequent critic of Markle, calling her a “ruthless social climber” and accusing her of “ghosting” him after their June 2016 meeting.
He was joined by Dan Wootton, the executive editor of one of Britain’s largest newspapers, in calling for the couple to be stripped of their titles. He called Markle’s comments “extraordinary” and accused the former actress of “actively campaigning against Donald Trump.”
Extraordinary! Meghan now actively campaigning against Donald Trump.
Completely inappropriate and a massive diplomatic embarrassment for the Queen and British Royal Family, whose entire success and longevity is based on staying out of party politics. https://t.co/FfRm1Vlfn7— Dan Wootton (@danwootton) August 21, 2020
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were given their titles by the queen as a wedding gift ahead of their 2018 nuptials. Following their decision to step back as senior royals and move to North America, they agreed to stop using the style of “Royal Highness” but are still referred to as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In a 2016 interview, Markle told Comedy Central host Larry Wilmore that President Trump is “divisive” and “misogynistic.”
“Of course Trump is divisive — think about female voters alone. I think it was in 2012, the Republican Party lost the female vote by 12 points. That’s a huge number and as misogynistic as Trump is — and so vocal about it — that’s a huge chunk of it,” she said. “You’re not just voting for a woman if it’s Hillary (Clinton). Yes, you’re voting because she’s a woman, but certainly, because Trump has made it easy to see that you don’t really want that kind of world that he’s painting.”
In an interview ahead of his 2019 state visit to the United Kingdom, Trump said he was unaware of Markle’s comments, adding that he didn’t “know that she was nasty.” Later in the interview, the president said that Markle would make an excellent princess, and he hoped that she would succeed in the role.
Members of the British royal family remain politically neutral and refrain from voting in elections. However, Markle told Marie Claire that she intends to vote in the 2020 election.
