Duchess of Sussex: Future Duties, Roles and Responsibilities

[duchessrachel]

I don't think marrying Harry should force her to give that up as that representing these types of organizations is exactly what she is supposed to be doing.

When you marry into the British Royal Family you become part of the Firm, as they like to call it, and you don't do your own thing, so to speak. Basically, as a member of the Firm you work for the Crown. I imagine they want her to start with a clean slate so that she can take on charities that are approved by the Firm. I am not saying that they would not approve of these charities by no means, but she is starting a brand new life. In a sense, she is not just marrying Prince Harry, but the entire family. From a practical standpoint, Meghan is going to have so much to adjust to that they probably want to ease her into it, like they did with Kate, so that she can have a good adjustment. Essentially you adjust your life to them and not them to you. I am not saying this in a negative way because I LOVE the British Royal Family. It is just a fact and I imagine everything that Meghan is doing from giving up her current charities, to becoming a member of the CofE, to eventually becoming a UK citizen was part of the "frank" discussions that Harry had with her.

 

[duchessrachel]

No. She is technically a Princess of United Kingdom by marriage. Just not Princess Kate or Princess Catherine, just like Meghan will not be Princess Meghan, as she is not a princess by birth.

Exactly. Meghan will be a princess in rank but not in title.

 

[Dani257]

I don't know if this is the right thread for this. There are so many threads about the couple, it's hard for me to figure out. So, move it to a better one if necessary.

Anyway, how much will Meghan have to change publicly? I mean, I don't expect her to throw a public 4th of July party or anything. But, it just seems that she can be this person at home where no one sees, but totally different out where people can see her. Just things from different parts of the internet, saying she might have to change this, or tone this down.

Will she be able to be herself? I mean, again, I don't think she's going to go on engagements waving the American flag and stomping on British traditions. But, isn't possible to be American to an extent (I'm not talking citizenship) and still represent her new country? To expand her identity, rather than tuck the American part at home where no one can see it?

 

[Mbruno]

I don't know if this is the right thread for this. There are so many threads about the couple, it's hard for me to figure out. So, move it to a better one if necessary.

Anyway, how much will Meghan have to change publicly? I mean, I don't expect her to throw a public 4th of July party or anything. But, it just seems that she can be this person at home where no one sees, but totally different out where people can see her. Just things from different parts of the internet, saying she might have to change this, or tone this down.

Will she be able to be herself? I mean, again, I don't think she's going to go on engagements waving the American flag and stomping on British traditions. But, isn't possible to be American to an extent (I'm not talking citizenship) and still represent her new country? To expand her identity, rather than tuck the American part at home where no one can see it?

I bet she is going to "throw a Fourth of July" party at the Palace in a room where a portrait of King George Iiii is hanging on the wall !

 

[Lisele]

I bet she is going to "throw a Fourth of July" party at the Palace in a room where a protrair of King George Iiii is hanging on the wall !

Good one!!!

 

[American Observer7]

I don't know if this is the right thread for this. There are so many threads about the couple, it's hard for me to figure out. So, move it to a better one if necessary.

Anyway, how much will Meghan have to change publicly? I mean, I don't expect her to throw a public 4th of July party or anything. But, it just seems that she can be this person at home where no one sees, but totally different out where people can see her. Just things from different parts of the internet, saying she might have to change this, or tone this down.

Will she be able to be herself? I mean, again, I don't think she's going to go on engagements waving the American flag and stomping on British traditions. But, isn't possible to be American to an extent (I'm not talking citizenship) and still represent her new country? To expand her identity, rather than tuck the American part at home where no one can see it?

Everyone here wants to change her. If Harry wanted to marry a Brit, he would have done so. Leave Meghan alone!

 

[duchessrachel]

I think you are a bit confused about what is meant by the term 'of the UK'.

ALL the princes and princesses are 'of the UK'. They often use territorial designations but that is to distinguish which branch of the family they belong to and doesn't remove them from being 'of the UK.'

As a result as the wife of a 'Prince of the UK' Meghan will be a 'Princess of the UK'. She will be HRH Princess Henry of Wales and when Charles becomes King she will be HRH The Princess Henry.

What she won't be is HRH Princess Meghan.

She will be known as either HRH Princess Henry of Wales and then HRH The Princess Henry when Charles becomes King or Duchess of xxxx but she will still be a princess.

Remember that in the UK Princess is a lower style than Duchess anyway. The only wife of a Prince of the UK who uses the title of Princess is Princess Michael of Kent and that is because Michael has nothing better for her to use.

When Birgitte married Richard she was known officially as Princess Richard of Gloucester but when he inherited the Dukedom they were both promoted from Prince and Princess to Duke and Duchess.

Meghan will therefore be - HRH Princess Henry of Wales if Harry isn't promoted to a peer of the realm on or before his wedding day.

The 'of Wale', 'of Cambridge', 'of York', 'of Gloucester' and 'of Kent' are there so people can know which prince or princess you are talking about if there are two of them e.g. there are two Prince Edwards - one is 'of Wessex' and one is 'of Kent' but both of 'of the UK'.

Thank you so much for this explanation. I know this is off topic, but I still have one question that baffles me based on prince/princess being a lower style than duke/duchess. Wikipedia says "On 22 February 1957, she [Queen Elizabeth] granted her husband the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom by Letters Patent, and it was gazetted that he was to be known as "His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh".[56]" Why would she have give him the title of Prince since he was already a Duke?

 

[Pranter]

He held the title Prince in his own right since he was a Prince by birth....she just expanded or added to that.


LaRae

 

[Lady Nimue]

I don't know if this is the right thread for this. There are so many threads about the couple, it's hard for me to figure out. So, move it to a better one if necessary.

Anyway, how much will Meghan have to change publicly? I mean, I don't expect her to throw a public 4th of July party or anything. But, it just seems that she can be this person at home where no one sees, but totally different out where people can see her. Just things from different parts of the internet, saying she might have to change this, or tone this down.

Will she be able to be herself? I mean, again, I don't think she's going to go on engagements waving the American flag and stomping on British traditions. But, isn't possible to be American to an extent (I'm not talking citizenship) and still represent her new country? To expand her identity, rather than tuck the American part at home where no one can see it?

I for one think it is inappropriate for anyone to suggest she be anyone other than her American self. However, royal history is rife with tragic stories of young royal brides made miserable in their adopted country because the populace just did not like the woman's 'German ways' or whatever it was.

This will be the salting ground for Meghan. She has the hardest audience of her life to win over. Will she sacrifice herself for the role? How will she play it? Luckily she will be the wife of the second son no where near the throne. This is why I had fears for her, fears that her bounteous spirit will be crushed, as we know can happen, as we know has happened with other women who have married royalty. Someone mentioned the transformation of Letizia of Spain, how sparky she was in her engagement interview and what a shadow of that former self she now is.

My hope is that Meghan gets out ever before she allows anything close to that to happen to her, though I have a strong sense that both Harry and Meghan intend for this marriage to work. It's likely (speculation) Meghan will survive by Harry and she 'traveling the commonwealth' as she hinted at. Whatever they do, however they handle it, it is not an insignificant aspect of this marriage. I hope they manage it well, for both their sakes.

 

[duchessrachel]

He held the title Prince in his own right since he was a Prince by birth....she just expanded or added to that.


LaRae

Thank you. It finally makes sense.

 

[EllieCat]

I know this is off topic, but I still have one question that baffles me based on prince/princess being a lower style than duke/duchess. Wikipedia says "On 22 February 1957, she [Queen Elizabeth] granted her husband the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom by Letters Patent, and it was gazetted that he was to be known as "His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh".[56]" Why would she have give him the title of Prince since he was already a Duke?

Before he married Princess Elizabeth, he had to give up his Danish title and then became Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten. Not a Royal anymore. Upon marriage he became a Royal Duke (but not a Prince). 10 years later Elizabeth gave him back his 'Prince Philip' style, now a Prince of the UK. See here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_titles_and_honours_of_Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh

 

[Mbruno]

He held the title Prince in his own right since he was a Prince by birth....she just expanded or added to that.


LaRae

He was forced to renounce his title of Prince of Greece and Denmark before he married Elizabeth and King George VI made him only a Duke and an HRH, but not a prince. It was only after QEII issued new LPs in 1957 that he could be called a prince again and in his own right.

 

[Pranter]

He was forced to renounce his title of Prince of Greece and Denmark before he married Elizabeth and King George VI made him only a Duke and an HRH, but not a prince. It was only after QEII issued new LPs in 1957 that he could be called a prince again and in his own right.

SMH...forgot all about that!


LaRae

 

[Chloep]

She is obviously American by birth & cultural background. That will never be taken away from her - nor should it be! She is an exceptional and truly lovely young women. But she is not exactly your "American flag on every clothing item & in every room" type of girl. She has her own hard-earned identity away from her homecountry/nation.

Make no mistake, the prince did not abdicate and move to the US with her. Harry chose her for HIS life and she chose to embrace it and embark on this beautiful journey. She is not just the arm candy of some British celebrity & or even the wife of a British philanthropist - she is marrying an extremely popular, senior member of the Royal British Family.
There is about one thing that there is no room for at the palace & that is national mosaicism or a melting pot. They are by far the most iconinc national representatives of Britishness. Active Americanization(PUBLIC 4th July parties, Thanksgiving, etc) of the Royal British Family is simply completely going against the base concept of the modern BRITISH monarchy. This is not a sign of modernizing the palace - it is destructing it, because in such difficult times, the public will turn against the monarchy if they become anti-monarchian themselves.

This is not about changing Meghan, I reckon she will find her joy and passion in her new country as she did in the past with Canada - only now to a differnt level. I recognize that some people may find giving up the national identity of their homecountry a dealbreaker. Meghan, though, seems to be able to seperate her national pride from her personal identity.
It's not like she is/was not given a choice. She was. And I am very happy she chose to embrace Harry's life and expressed immense excitement at joining in his life.

However, I fully expect her to incorporate her own (American) traditions into their everyday & private lives. I reckon Harry will be very open-minded towards infusing Americanism into their lives to offer Meghan comfort. I bet their rascals will love it too. For sure, she will not be expected to lose her core self

 

[Mbruno]

I for one think it is inappropriate for anyone to suggest she be anyone other than her American self. However, royal history is rife with tragic stories of young royal brides made miserable in their adopted country because the populace just did not like the woman's 'German ways' or whatever it was.

This will be the salting ground for Meghan. She has the hardest audience of her life to win over. Will she sacrifice herself for the role? How will she play it? Luckily she will be the wife of the second son no where near the throne. This is why I had fears for her, fears that her bounteous spirit will be crushed, as we know can happen, as we know has happened with other women who have married royalty. Someone mentioned the transformation of Letizia of Spain, how sparky she was in her engagement interview and what a shadow of that former self she now is.

My hope is that Meghan gets out ever before she allows anything close to that to happen to her, though I have a strong sense that both Harry and Meghan intend for this marriage to work. It's likely (speculation) Meghan will survive by Harry and she 'traveling the commonwealth' as she hinted at. Whatever they do, however they handle it, it is not an insignificant aspect of this marriage. I hope they manage it well, for both their sakes.

Taking your point, Letizia is an interesting example, I am pretty convinced Felipe really loves her; otherwise he would not have gone against centuries of family tradition and moved heaven and earth to marry her. Other than Felipe, she doesn't seem to get along with anybody else in the family : not with King Juan Carlos, nor with Queen Sofia ( on whose shadow she still lives, even as Queen herself) , and much less with Felipe's sisters. Furthermore, she is unfortunately not very popular; some Spanisrds just tolerate her and others actually loarhe her as we see on social média occasionally.

My biggest fears about Meghan were similar to Letizia's case above II e that she would have a hard time with the family and wouldn't be accepred by the British people, So far só good though,,

 

[jacqui24]

Can we please stop with the over dramatics? No one is trying to change Meghan. She is who she is as a person. The fact is she now lives in UK and have obviously been willing to adopt it as her new home and support an institution that represents so much of its culture. I don't think her citizenship defines her as a person. All Americans are individually different as people, believe it or not.

 

[Biri]

I bet she is going to "throw a Fourth of July" party at the Palace in a room where a portrait of King George Iiii is hanging on the wall !

Just for curiosity: Did Princess Grace of Monaco throw such parties in Monaco Princely Palace?

 

[Isabella]

Taking your point, Letizia is an interesting example, I am pretty convinced Felipe really loves her; otherwise he would not have gone against centuries of family tradition and moved heaven and earth to marry her. Other than Felipe, she doesn't seem to get along with anybidy else in the family : not with King Juan Carlos, nor with Queen Sofia ( on whose shadow she still lives, even as Queen herself) , and much less with Felipe's sisters. Furthermore, she is unfortunately not very popular; some Spanisrds just tolerate her and others actually loarhe her as we see on social média occasionally.

My biggest fears about Meghan were similar to Letizia's case above II e that she would have a hard time with the family and wouldn't be accepred by the British people, So far só good though,,

I thought about Letizia as soon as I saw Meghan and Harry's interview, because Meghan's confidence and personality stood out to me in much the same way that Letizia's had at her engagement announcement. Usually royal fiancees are (understandably) more reserved in that first interview, but both Meghan and Letizia were very much at ease ... which I perceive as a good thing. For me, it has been very disheartening to see the way that Letizia is regarded by the Spanish people. However, Meghan's situation is fortunately quite different: it's a different country (and, of course, a different royal family) and she's not marrying the future king. Hopefully Meghan will be given a bit more leeway to be herself ... I suspect she will.

 

[Dani257]

I have a question. Or a few, actually. In the future, maybe after she's proven herself and been accepted, will Meghan be able to have some patronages of her own?

Also, if the majority of her patronages and charities are British, would she be allowed to support a cause that's international or for another country? I'm thinking like Harry has Sentable, which isn't a British cause. Or is that okay because he was born into the royal family? Or is it not a royal patronage, just something he does individually and that makes it okay? And if that's the case, would she be allowed to do something like this one day? If she has a cause like that, that she wants to help with.

 

[Isabella]

Just for curiosity: Did Princess Grace of Monaco throw such parties in Monaco Princely Palace?

I don't know about parties, but on her first July 4th as Princess of Monaco, Grace made her first public appearance in Monaco since her wedding at special mass celebrating (American) Independence Day at the cathedral in Monaco.

 

[Mbruno]

Just for curiosity: Did Princess Grace of Monaco throw such parties in Monaco Princely Palace?

Since there was no former Sovereign Prince of Monaco and direct ancestor of her husband who was denounced as tyrant in The US Declaration of Independence, I don't see why not !

 

[Biri]

I thought about Letizia as soon as I saw Meghan and Harry's interview, because Meghan's confidence and personality stood out to me in much the same way that Letizia's had at her engagement announcement. Usually royal fiancees are (understandably) more reserved in that first interview, but both Meghan and Letizia were very much at ease ... which I perceive as a good thing. For me, it has been very disheartening to see the way that Letizia is regarded by the Spanish people. However, Meghan's situation is fortunately quite different: it's a different country (and, of course, a different royal family) and she's not marrying the future king. Hopefully Meghan will be given a bit more leeway to be herself ... I suspect she will.

Letizia was a journalist, she got used to speak publicly, it probably helped her a lot.

 

[Pranter]

Dani I would think so, they all do have their own patronages along with the joint ones.


LaRae

 

[Osipi]

Can we please stop with the over dramatics? No one is trying to change Meghan. She is who she is as a person. The fact is she now lives in UK and have obviously been willing to adopt it as her new home and support an institution that represents so much of its culture. I don't think her citizenship defines her as a person. All Americans are individually different as people, believe it or not.

When we really stop and think about it, in Meghan's role and in today's global society, she'll be on the *world* stage. She's not joining a local football team.

 

[duchessrachel]

He was forced to renounce his title of Prince of Greece and Denmark before he married Elizabeth and King George VI made him only a Duke and an HRH, but not a prince. It was only after QEII issued new LPs in 1957 that he could be called a prince again and in his own right.

That is what confuses me. If a duke is a higher title than a prince, why did she do it since he already had a Dukedom? i am not saying the should not have. I am still just trying to figure out how all these titles work. Everytime I think I have it figured out, i get confused again

 

[TLLK]

I think it’s best to break it all down to The Royal Foundation.

How about just initials TRF..oh wait I think that's already being used.? But where have I seen those initials before?

I have a question. Or a few, actually. In the future, maybe after she's proven herself and been accepted, will Meghan be able to have some patronages of her own?

Yes in the months after their wedding, we'll likely hear about the patronages that she'll take on.

 

[Osipi]

This is just my off the wall guesstimation but at the onset of the marriage, Philip did have the feeling of being "a bloody amoeba" and one that wasn't allowed to pass his name onto his children.

With the Queen issuing letters patent creating him The Prince Philip, it also raised him in precedence so that of all royal males, he would be the highest. She also, further down the line, issued letters patent declaring that those of her and Philip's descendants that did not bear the HRH and needed a surname would be known as Mountbatten-Windsor.

Over the years, the Queen has done these things here and there to honor and show her appreciation as a monarch to her "strength and stay" of so many years. I love it.

 

[cepe]

Yes I did understand that as a fiance this wouldn't have been considered her engagement, but at times the CC will note that a royal was "accompanied by ___________."?

When Catherine accompanied William on the engagements before the wedding she was not mentioned in the CC at all - just as if she hadn't attended.

 

[Mbruno]

That is what confuses me. If a duke is a higher title than a prince, why did she do it since he already had a Dukedom? i am not saying the should not have. I am still just trying to figure out how all these titles work. Everytime I think I have it figured out, i get confused again

Duke is not a higher title than prince. The confusion arises because some senior princes also happen to be dukes.

 

[royal rob]

I thought about Letizia as soon as I saw Meghan and Harry's interview, because Meghan's confidence and personality stood out to me in much the same way that Letizia's had at her engagement announcement. Usually royal fiancees are (understandably) more reserved in that first interview, but both Meghan and Letizia were very much at ease ... which I perceive as a good thing. For me, it has been very disheartening to see the way that Letizia is regarded by the Spanish people. However, Meghan's situation is fortunately quite different: it's a different country (and, of course, a different royal family) and she's not marrying the future king. Hopefully Meghan will be given a bit more leeway to be herself ... I suspect she will.

Well they have both had careers in front of a camera !! Of course they are excellent