14 royals who lost or declined their titles: Prince Andrew, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry aren’t the only ones stripped of their status
Queen Elizabeth stripped her second son, Prince Andrew of his royal titles last week as a result of the ongoing sexual assault lawsuit against him brought by Virginia Roberts in New York State. This means Prince Andrew will no longer be known as His Royal Highness or have any royal military affiliations or charitable patronages. He will still be known as the Duke of York, a title gifted to him by his mother on his wedding day, and is still a prince of the United Kingdom.
But he is hardly the first royal to have his titles stripped from him. Andrew is the fifth royal in 26 years to have HRH title taken away. Let’s look at them and other examples from Britain, and beyond.
1. Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson
Following their divorces to Prince Charles and Prince Andrew respectively, both Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson had their titles taken away in 1996.
2. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
3. King Edward VIII
Edward VIII, the queen’s uncle, never lost his HRH title however, when he abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry twice divorcee, Wallis Simpson after only 326 days as king.
He was forced to abdicate before his coronation, as British monarchs head of the Church of England, which back then did not allow divorcees to remarry if their ex-spouse was still living. Edward was demoted to the title of Duke of Windsor and was forced into exile for the rest of his life.
4. Prince Philip
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had to renounce his Greek and Danish royal titles to become a British citizen and marry Queen Elizabeth in 1947. He adopted the surname Mountbatten from his maternal grandparents.
5. Princess Anne
Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth, declined royal titles for her children Peter and Zara Phillips so that they could lead more normal lives.
6. Prince Michael of Kent
Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent had to forfeit his line of succession to the British throne when, in 1978, he married Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, who is Catholic. British royals have not been allowed to marry Catholics since Henry VIII’s time.
Prince Michael was 15th in line to the throne at the time. In 2015, he and his children were reinstated and the prince is now 52nd in line to the throne.
7. Grandchildren of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden
Other European royal families have had their shakedowns too in recent years. In 2019, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden stripped their five grandchildren of their Royal Highness titles to allow them to cut down on royal duties. They are officially no longer part of the Swedish Royal House, although they can keep their prince and princess titles.
8. Princess Mako
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle lost their titles after stepping down as senior royals, while Princess Diana’s was stripped following her divorce to Charles
- UK’s Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson, Japan’s Princess Mako also gave up her royal status, as well as US$1 million, for love