Princess Beatrice and Eugenie Face Fresh Pressure to Give Up HRH Titles After Harry and Meghan Comparison
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have been urged to give up their HRH styles and follow Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s example, reigniting debate over whether non-working royals should retain their royal status while pursuing careers outside the monarchy.
Norman Baker, a former Liberal Democrat MP, made the argument during an interview with GB News, suggesting that the daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson should reconsider their titles if they intend to continue working in the private sector.
Baker argued that being born into the Royal Family should not prevent someone from choosing a different career or lifestyle. He pointed to Harry and Meghan’s decision to step back from official royal duties as an example of how members of the institution can pursue a separate path.
“Being a member of the royal family is not something you choose; you’re born into it, and you must have the right to, in inverted commas, resign and then do something else,” Baker said. “It can’t be a life sentence.”
His comments came ahead of the publication of his book, Royal Mint, National Debt: The Shocking Truth About the Royals’ Finances, in which he examines royal finances and the costs associated with the monarchy.
Baker made clear that he did not object to Beatrice and Eugenie having professional lives outside the Royal Family. Instead, his criticism centred on their continued entitlement to use their HRH styles while pursuing private-sector opportunities.
“Harry and Meghan are no longer undertaking royal duties, but it’s inevitable they will trade on their connections,” he said, adding that the same issue applied to the York sisters.
He also said he did not begrudge Beatrice and Eugenie their work or the professional environments they had established. His concern, he explained, was whether royal status should remain attached to people who are not carrying out official duties on behalf of the monarchy.
Baker argued that those choosing independent careers should not be able to retain the advantages associated with royal status while operating in the commercial world. He described the arrangement as having “one foot in the camp of the Royal Family and one foot in the camp of private enterprise”.
The former MP added: “They’re either working royals, or they’re not working royals. If they’re not working royals, they shouldn’t have HRH titles.”
His remarks revive comparisons with Harry and Meghan, who stopped undertaking official royal duties in 2020 and subsequently established independent lives in the United States. The couple no longer use HRH styles in an official capacity, although their royal titles remain.
Beatrice and Eugenie occupy a different position. They are not full-time working royals, but they have retained their HRH styles and occasionally attend royal events. Neither princess has publicly announced plans to surrender those styles.
Robert Hazell, emeritus professor of government and the constitution at University College London, also discussed the legal framework governing royal designations during the interview. He explained that HRH status is granted through Letters Patent and can be withdrawn, citing Princess Diana’s loss of the style following her 1996 divorce from the then Prince of Wales.
However, the existence of a legal mechanism does not mean the York sisters are facing an official decision to remove their styles. Baker’s comments represent his own position, and no announcement from Buckingham Palace indicates that Beatrice or Eugenie has been asked to give up her status.
The debate ultimately raises a broader question about the distinction between royal identity and public service. Whether Beatrice and Eugenie should follow Harry and Meghan’s example remains a matter of opinion, with no confirmed indication that either princess intends to change her current arrangements.
