ROYAL experts have slammed Meghan Markle for using her royal title on a gift card, telling her “you can’t have it both ways”.
Meghan and Prince Harry agreed they wouldn’t use their HRH titles after they broke from the royal family – but the Duchess of Sussex seemingly still uses it with her friends.
In a recent podcast interview, a photo showed a gift basket of ice cream and strawberry sauce Meghan sent to Kern Lima a year ago.
With it came a note on monogrammed paper, signed: “With the compliments of HRH the Duchess of Sussex.”
Sources said that while Meghan and Harry do still have their titles, they agreed not to use them for “commercial purposes”.
The source said the note was a “personal gift” but the couple don’t publicly use HRH.
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But royal expert Hugo Vickers told The Sun the card shows “complete disrespect” and suggests Meghan is “exploiting the system”.
He said: “I think it’s very shocking.
“One thing that was made absolutely clear when they left was that the HRH title was not to be used. The other person who doesn’t use it is Prince Andrew, who has accepted that completely.
“And now we see a card printed with HRH printed on it. This is completely unacceptable.
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“It brings up the wider issue of what they are doing with their titles all along. The reason we follow what they’re doing is because she is married to Prince Harry.
“It gives a soap opera element that wouldn’t be there if she was just a film star. It’s bad enough them using the Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles.
“The problem with that is that it would be more difficult to remove them because it would require an Act of Parliament. Parliament has more important things to think about than them.
“The fact this has been used with a card is very worrying. It’s a complete disrespect for the deal that was made with the Queen.”
When asked what he thinks about Meghan using the title with her friends, he said: “It shouldn’t be used at all.
“None of the titles should be used – it’s exploiting the system. It links them to the British Royal Family.
“They can’t have it both ways. They shouldn’t take advantage of it under any circumstances – a deal is a deal. The fact that a card has been printed shows this is not just a one-off thing. This card exists and is presumably being used quite a lot under all sorts of circumstances.
“I’m not surprised they are doing this – they’re pushing the boundaries all the time. But they really can’t do that.”
Meghan Markle & Prince Harry are in no man’s land – it’s a total crisis point for them, claims expert
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry are “in no man’s land” as they navigate “crisis point”, claimed experts.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have both launched multiple business ventures since stepping down as senior working royals and quitting the UK in 2020.
Since turning their backs on the Royal Family, the couple have battled several stumbling blocks while trying to carve out their new identities.
Meghan, 43, has this year released her latest Netflix series With Love, Meghan, in which she hosted Hollywood pals.
Shortly after came the roll out of her brand As Ever, despite the company facing a series of setbacks.
The mum-of-two then dropped her second podcast, Confessions Of A Female Founder, which has already dropped off the Spotify Top 100 list.
The Duchess has also been promoting her ShopMy page, on which she advertised a controversial “ethical” handbag, where she shares links to her wardrobe and pockets a commission.
Harry meanwhile has been busy working on his Polo documentary on Netflix, and as ever his Invictus Games.
But despite trying to “reinvent themselves”, the pair are yet to settle on a particular niche, according to experts.
Meanwhile, fellow royal author Ingrid Seward said: “I think if her late grandmother-in-law Queen Elizabeth was still around she would be highly offended, as she was very sensitive about that.
“She wouldn’t think it was the correct form and remember she removed the HRH titles from both Diana and Sarah Ferguson.
“The Queen didn’t remove HRH but told them not to use it.
“But she isn’t here anymore so maybe Harry and Meghan think they can get away with it.”
No memoir plans
It comes after Meghan admitted she had no plans to follow in Harry’s footsteps and pen a memoir yet – but said “I’ve got a lot more life to live before I’m there”.
In the podcast, the 43-year-old gushed about her children, her life in California and called Harry a ‘fox’ with cosmetics entrepreneur Jamie Kern Lima.
But halfway through the chat the host revealed around a year ago Meghan sent her a gift box of food and thank you card.
Posting a photo of the present it revealed the card read: “With Compliments of H.R.H The Duchess of Sussex.”
The cosmetics boss said: “I had a very full house and all of sudden I get word that you dropped off this gift basket with ice creams, homemade strawberry sauce to put on top of the ice cream just to see if that helps lighten my load.”
Meghan and Harry agreed not to use their HRH title at the Sandringham Agreement five years ago, amid fears they would use their royal titles to make money.
Experts said the Queen didn’t remove their titles, but did tell them to stop using it.
The Duchess also had some backlash earlier in the month in a similar row.
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On Instagram, she shared a message from Ukraine’s Vice President addressing her as “Your Royal Highness.”
It came after she insisted her surname is now Sussex while correcting her friend in her Netflix show.
Meghan Markle shares rare pics of Archie & Lilibet in rose garden after revealing daughter’s adorable American accent
THE Duchess of Sussex has shared three rare snaps of Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie just a day after revealing her daughter’s adorable accent.
Meghan Markle, 43, posted the adorable pictures of her son, five, and daughter, three, on Instagram.
Captioning the rare moment, Meghan wrote: “Sunday kind of love….with my little loves.”
The mum-of-two even featured in the first as she appears to hold a pink rose on a sunny day in front of her children.
It comes just hours after the Duchess of Sussex revealed Princess Lilibet’s adorable American accent for the first time.
Responding to her mother’s question about strawberry jam, the toddler could be heard with a Californian accent.
