Did the royal family’s website subtly shade Prince Harry and Meghan Markle? The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have apparently been downgraded on the list of British royal family members.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, used to appear just below Prince William and Duchess Kate but above Prince Andrew and Prince Edward on the royal family webpage. They now appear after Princess Anne, Andrew, 61, Edward, 57, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
While the California-based royals got moved down, Anne, 70, was bumped up a few spots to appear right after Kate, 39.
The website doesn’t necessarily rank the royals, so it seems likely that Meghan and Harry were pushed down since they are not considered “working” royals. In February, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the twosome would no longer attend engagements on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. “While all are saddened by their decision, the Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family,” the palace statement said.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
The website shift was noticed just after Edward and Sophie, 56, shaded the Sussexes’ March tell-all. “What interview?” Sophie quipped when asked about the sit-down in a Friday, June 4, interview with The Telegraph. Per CBS, about 61 million people worldwide watched the special within a week after it first aired.
The Suits alum and the former military pilot, who share 2-year-old Archie, called out the royal family for not providing them with what they felt was a safe environment. The interview revealed that Meghan dealt with suicidal thoughts while she was pregnant with her son in 2019.
“I just didn’t see a solution. I would sit up at night, and I was just, like, I don’t understand how all of this is being churned out,” Meghan said of the British press tearing her apart. “I realized that it was all happening just because I was breathing. I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry, especially, because I know how much loss he’s suffered. But I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought.”
She said The Firm, those who keep the royal family running like a business, didn’t help her.
“I said that I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution,” Meghan said, noting that even the palace’s HR department couldn’t help. “They said, ‘My heart goes out to you, but there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution.’”
Though they’ve ruffled some feathers across the pond, the queen, 95, still has “a soft spot” for Harry, a source told Us Weekly in May.
Another insider revealed that the headline-making couple won’t be kept out of any events as the queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee next year.
“The Jubilee is a family event, and all of the queen’s family will be invited, including Harry, Meghan and their children,” another source told Us earlier this month.
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