Prince William ‘has shrewd plan for Harry and Meghan and their royal futures’

Amid recent speculation that Prince William could one day strip Harry and Meghan of their royal titles, a royal expert has divulged the one reason why the future King would never take that step

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Prince William and Prince Harry have been at war for several years(Image: In Pictures via Getty Images)

Since Andrew and Sarah Ferguson were stripped of their titles, speculation has increased that one day Harry and Meghan could meet the same fate. Prince Harry, 41, has retained his titles despite having some strained relationships with the Royal Family, and spending the last five years living in California with his wife, Duchess Meghan, 44, and their two children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four.

Relations might have somewhat thawed with King Charles in recent months, but it’s well known that Harry and his older brother, Prince William, have not seen eye to eye for a long time and aren’t in contact. Some significant diary clashes between the two siblings have seen them go head-to-head for the front pages in the last year, with royal watchers speculating that this might not help improve matters between the brothers.

With Andrew’s titles unceremoniously removed by the monarch in October amid ongoing public outcry over his connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – some royal experts have claimed that Harry and Meghan are equally as “vulnerable” to losing their official royal status when Prince William takes the throne.Article continues below

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Margrethe stripped four of her grandchildren of their princely titles in 2022(Image: Getty Images)

Royal author Tom Bower has previously speculated that Harry and Meghan are on “borrowed time” when it comes to their titles, and royal expert Tom Sykes has echoed these sentiments. Sykes, for the Daily Beast, said that he believes William will be quick to issue “letters patent” to remove princely titles from non-working royals when the time comes for him to take the throne in what would be a “dramatic change”.

There would be some precedent for a move like this, with the Danish Queen Margrethe II, stripping four of her grandchildren of their prince and princess titles back in 2022. She said at the time she wanted to “future-proof” the monarchy but apologised for the family upset it caused, admitting she “underestimated” how her son Prince Joachim and his children would feel about the decision. Joachim said at the time, “It’s never fun to see your children being mistreated like that. They find themselves in a situation they do not understand.”

The idea of a “slimmed down” monarchy is something that King Charles himself has put forward for many years, keen to cut the costs for the taxpayer and ensure the longevity of the institution. Despite all of this, one royal expert tells the Mirror that in her view, it isn’t likely at all that taking Harry and Meghan’s titles away would be anywhere close to the top of William’s agenda when the time finally comes for him to take the throne.

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William’s been working to end homelessness and took George with him on a recent charity visit(Image: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace)

This is simply because William has much bigger fish to fry than settling a personal score with his younger brother, even if they haven’t been getting on in recent years. The expert, commentator Afua Acheampong-Hagan explains that fundamentally, William just is not that “petty” and shrewdly knows how it would look.

Instead, the future King is laser-focussed on major issues that affect society, and undertaking ambitious, high-impact projects to improve people’s lives. For instance, William’s project Homewards, which aims to prove that it is possible to end homelessness in the UK, and the Earthshot Prize, which promotes those who have created innovative solutions to the climate crisis, and helps provide a framework to scale them up.

Taking away his brother and sister-in-law’s titles as a priority would “just make him look petty,” said the expert. “I don’t think he’s got time to do that, and, also, he doesn’t want that to be the focus of his reign when it comes. ‘Oh the first thing I’m going to do is take away my brother’s titles,’ for what?

“What would be the point? It’s really silly to be focussing on [whether] that’s the thing he might do when he comes to reign.” The expert adds that in her opinion, “There’s so many other things that the Royal Family need to do to modernise, taking away people’s titles for living their own lives, it will seem silly and petty, so I just don’t think that he will.”

Given that William’s high-profile projects to enact major change are “definitely” his priority, moving to immediately strip Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet of their royal titles “would just seem really, really petty,” the expert explains, something that isn’t in line with what we know of William’s personality and focus.

“I genuinely don’t think he is that petty, and I think he knows if he did that, that’s how he would come across,” the expert adds about the ongoing speculation.

The couple have lost 11 advisors in five years, with their latest casualty being PR boss Meredith Maines who has worked for the couple for just a year. In a short statement, Ms Maines revealed she would be “pursuing a new opportunity” in 2026.

It will likely come as a blow to the Duke and Duchess, with her exit marking the fifth key member of publicity staff to have left their employment with Harry and Meghan in the second half of 2025 alone, amid continuing accusations the couple are “difficult” to work with.