Debate about Prince Harry and Meghan’s Royal connections has been rekindled following the King’s choice to remove his brother Andrew’s titles. Recently, Meghan has faced allegations of continuing to capitalise on the pair’s Royal links through her lifestyle brand.

In a recent video promoting her Christmas collection, Meghan was seen working at her laptop with a blue notebook featuring her Royal cypher embossed in gold positioned on her desk. The monogram – comprising the letter M topped with a crown – was revealed prior to her marriage to Harry in 2018.

Additionally, she has launched a new candle – No 519 – commemorating their wedding. “This signature candle is inspired by the ease and joy of a day that holds Meghan’s most cherished memories – her wedding day, May 19th,” the description stated.

This has sparked criticism from Royal observers who query why Harry and Meghan persist in exploiting their connections to the Firm, considering their numerous criticisms of their period within the institution, and their choice to abandon Royal duties more than five years ago, reports the Mirror.

Royal biographer Tom Bower claims senior royals and Buckingham Palace staff have long pondered the Sussexes’ aim to ‘monetise the monarchy’. He previously stated the deterioration in relations between the Sussexes and Buckingham Palace became evident after the couple were compelled to abandon plans to utilise the ‘SussexRoyal’ brand.

The couple’s lives as working royals came to an end on 31 March 2020 when they ceased representing the Queen and became financially independent. In February 2020, the pair released a statement on their official website suggesting they were furious at how the decision was reached and their treatment compared with other royals.

In a statement that Mr Bower claimed was penned in ‘spite’ and targeted every single Royal – including the late Queen, the Sussexes wrote that the monarch lacked authority to prevent them using the word ‘royal’. “While there is not any jurisdiction by the monarchy or cabinet office over the use of the word ‘royal’ overseas, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ or any iteration of the word ‘royal’ in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs spring 2020,” the statement said.

Mr Bower said that the statement was “spiteful fury. It was rude to the Queen.”

Mr Bower further noted to the Daily Mail that the statement barely concealed the Sussexes’ ‘simmering resentment’ against other members of the family, and a subtle dig at ‘minor royals’ Beatrice and Eugenie. “While there is precedent for other titled members of the royal family to seek employment outside of the institution, for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex a 12-month review period has been put in place,” it continued.

From March 2020, the Sussexes ceased to be working members of the Royal Family and, consequently, were no longer permitted to use their ‘HRH’ titles.

According to Mr Bower, “Harry assured his family” that the couple would “never” use their titles “to make money” – but less than a month after January’s Sandringham Summit, Harry travelled to Miami for a JP Morgan event.

“Hosted by Gayle King, he flew to Florida on a private jet from Vancouver to earn an estimated $1 million for exposing his wounds,” the biographer observed, recounting how Harry disclosed he had been receiving therapy for seven years to process the loss of his mother, the late Princess Diana, during the keynote speech.

Harry also informed the audience he did not ‘regret’ the Sussexes’ decision to step down as senior royals because it was taken to ‘protect his family’.

Mr Bower claimed palace officials were ‘aghast’ following the profitable engagement.

This was, Mr Bower suggested, ‘exactly the commercialisation of the monarchy’ that Harry had pledged to avoid during his discussions at Sandringham in January 2020. Harry and Meghan initially adopted the Sussex Royal moniker in 2019 after they separated their household from that of Prince William and Princess Kate, known as Kensington Royal.

Their Instagram page, @sussexroyal, had garnered 11.2 million followers at the time – equalling the fan base of William and Kate’s account.

However, the following year it was disclosed that the Queen and senior officials had determined the couple would need to relinquish their title. A source informed the Mail: “In many ways, this is inevitable given their decision to step down. But it must surely come as a blow to the couple as they have invested everything into the Sussex Royal brand. The Queen would have had little choice, however.

“The Sussexes’ original plan – of being half-in, half-out working royals – was never going to work. Obviously, as the Queen has made clear, they are still much-loved members of her family. But if they aren’t carrying out official duties and are now seeking other commercial opportunities, they simply cannot be allowed to market themselves as royals.”