Critics accuse Duchess of Sussex of disrespecting Queen’s wishes as gift card reignites royal feud
Meghan Markle is facing intense backlash after a gift she sent to a friend was signed using the title “HRH, The Duchess of Sussex”—a move critics say breaches the agreement she and Harry made with the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The controversy flared during Meghan’s recent appearance on the Jamie Kern Lima Show, where a luxury hamper she gifted to the host was shown on camera. Attached to the hamper was a card signed with her former royal style, despite the 2020 agreement that she and the Duke of Sussex would no longer use their HRH titles after stepping down as senior working royals.
Though sources close to Meghan have defended the gesture as private and non-commercial, royal commentators have denounced it as a calculated insult. One critic described it as “dancing on the grave of the monarchy,” reigniting long-standing tensions over the couple’s post-royal conduct.
Former Labour MP Stephen Pound launched a scathing attack on GB News, accusing Meghan of profiting from her royal past while publicly denouncing the institution. “She’s flogging the video while clinging to a title she promised to drop,” he said, also ridiculing her for selling “an overpriced $50 jar of honey.”
He continued, “You can’t trash the Royal Family and then milk it for every dollar. She’s clinging like a leech to its fame.”
Broadcaster Mike Parry echoed the criticism, calling Meghan “desperate to remain relevant as a royal” despite her repeated public criticisms. “The Queen made it absolutely clear—she was not to use that title. This is not an oversight. It’s defiance,” he said.
The uproar has once again cast a spotlight on the couple’s strained relationship with the monarchy—and whether their exit from royal life was ever truly complete.
