Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s Bio On Royal Family Website Undergoes Unexpected Shake-Up That Raises Eyebrows

Mar 25, 2024

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced to the world on Jan. 8, 2020, that they would step down as senior working members of the British royal family in a move popularly dubbed “Megxit.” By spring of 2020, the transition was complete, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were no longer carrying out royal duties. 

Prince Harry is King Charles III and the late Princess Diana’s youngest son. His older brother is Prince William. He now lives outside the royal family, raising his and Meghan’s two children in the United States. Although he and Meghan stepped down from their duties as senior royals, they have not shunned the spotlight, appearing at public charity events and pursuing their own creative and philanthropic ventures, many under their own brand, Archewell.

In the beginning, Harry’s relationship with Meghan seemed like a modern-day fairy tale that captured the world’s attention. The couple first met in July 2016, when a mutual friend introduced them during Harry’s visit to Toronto, Canada, where Meghan was living at the time. They were set up on a blind date and immediately hit it off. In November 2016, news of their relationship broke, and the couple faced intense media scrutiny. Meghan faced particular attention due to her status as an American actress and her biracial background.

On Nov. 27, 2017, Prince Harry and Meghan announced their engagement. The news was celebrated around the world, with Meghan becoming the first American to be officially engaged to a British royal. The couple married on May 19, 2018, at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

However, the tension between Prince Harry, Meghan, and the royal family became a prominent aspect of their relationship, exacerbated by media coverage. Read on to learn more about their experience.

Since the announcement of their relationship, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been subjected to intense media scrutiny. Tabloids and paparazzi often invade their privacy and publish sensationalized stories.

Meghan, in particular, faced racist and sexist commentary from certain sections of the press, highlighting the challenges she encountered as a biracial woman entering the British royal family. Despite all these difficulties, Harry and Meghan were expected, as members of the royal family, to adhere to certain traditions and protocols, including public engagements, official duties, and a strict code of conduct when in public. However, Meghan’s background as an American actress and her outspoken nature clashed with traditional royal norms, leading to criticism and clashes within the institution.

In January 2020, Harry and Meghan made the unprecedented decision to step back from their roles as senior members of the royal family, seeking financial independence and a more private life. This, however, did not spell the end for the Sussexes when it came to the spotlight. They have since been highly vocal and critical about their experiences as working royals, which they detailed in an explosive high-profile interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. After the hubbub over the tell-all interview died down, they continued to stay busy, involving themselves in projects such as the Netflix documentary “Harry & Meghan” and the podcast “Archetypes.” Harry focused on his memoir “Spare,” which was released in January 2023. 

Despite moving to the US to raise their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the media has continued to hound the couple, publishing reports on their every move, such as Prince Harry’s brief return to the UK to visit his father after news of his cancer diagnosis. Every decision made by either Harry or Meghan was scrutinized with an exhaustive and, most times, critical eye, such as changes made to their website or children’s titles.   

However, it wasn’t just Harry and Meghan’s actions that were under the media’s microscope. The royal family’s approach towards the couple has been the source of media fascination as well. While Harry and Meghan are still considered part of the royal family, certain seemingly punitive decisions have not gone unnoticed by eagle-eyed royal watchers. Among them was the change to the royal family’s official website, in particular, the section containing short biographies of each senior member of the royal family. On the page, the link to King Charles III’s bio was naturally on the very top, followed by Queen Camilla, Catherine the Princess of Wales and Prince William. Like them, Harry and Meghan used to also have separate biographies, but that has now changed.

Since mid-March 2024, Harry and Meghan shared a link to a joint biography from previously individual ones, a change that raised some eyebrows among royal watchers. However, it was the placement of their link on the page that stirred the most debate. After Charles, Camilla, Catherine and William, users have to scroll down past eight other members of the royal family on the page to get to their biography link at the very bottom of the page. What’s worse, the link is situated directly under Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, whose association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein led to his name being tarnished and his role within the royal family significantly diminished.

In the shared bio for the Sussexes, readers are first confronted with a disclaimer stating the couple had “stepped back as working members of The Royal Family.” The bio also highlights Meghan’s previous work as an actress, alongside a photo of her on the set of her TV show “Suits.” 

The bio read, “Alongside her successful career as an actress, The Duchess also wrote and edited a lifestyle website called The Tig.”

What are your thoughts on the changes to the royal family’s website concerning Prince Harry and Meghan Markle? Are you a fan of the Sussexes? Let us know, then pass this along to friends and family who love keeping up with news on the royals, too!