Prince Harry is living abroad permanently and is absent from royal duties, which could put his fifth-in-line status at risk.
Sources say discussions at the royal Balmoral summit this summer could include not only revising Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s titles, but also removing them from the line of succession.
“The order of succession can be changed by law if a member of the royal family lives permanently outside the UK and no longer performs royal duties,” the source said. “If that were to happen, Prince Harry’s children could also be removed from the line of succession.”
Robert Blackburn, a constitutional law professor at King’s College London, told uaebreaking.co.uk that living abroad is not a legal disqualification for the monarchy. , Prince Harry could also be removed from the line of succession by a decision of Parliament.
“Like Edward VIII, Prince Harry does not want to take on the expected royal roles and has retreated abroad. So if for some reason this becomes an issue as a statutory royal matter, Prince Harry would probably be willing to renounce his right to the throne,” Blackburn said.
The terms of the monarchy, particularly the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701, are fundamental to the succession of the monarchy. Recently, Edward VIII voluntarily abdicated and was succeeded by his brother George VI by an Act of Parliament in 1936.
Blackburn added that in constitutional measures such as this, it is usually the British government, not the monarch, that takes the lead in introducing the bill. “Backbenchers and peers can technically introduce a bill table,” Blackburn said. “Whatever you think about this issue, it’s not going anywhere and it would be prevented by the government from going beyond a formal first reading.”
For example, the issue of amending the Regency Act regarding elected Councillors of State while adding a clause requested by Prince Harry himself that would remove him from the line of succession to the throne shows that he has clearly severed his ties with public life. The monarchy and the royal family want to give up.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their decision to step down as senior working royals in January 2020, saying they would “work to become financially independent”.
But soon after settling in the US, the couple embarked on what has been called a “royal bashing”, appearing in a chat with Oprah Winfrey, filming a Netflix documentary and Prince Harry slamming the family in his memoir, Spare.
The couple recently visited the South American country of Colombia to raise awareness about cyberbullying and female empowerment, reportedly further angering the royal family.
xclusively revealed last week that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s titles will be up for discussion when the royal family gathers at Balmoral for their annual summer holiday.
Sources say one of the topics of discussion at the so-called “royal summit” will be the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and how they fit into the royal family over the next decade.
“Not only will Harry and Meghan’s tour and upcoming trip to Canada be on the agenda, but their titles and ranks will also be up for discussion,” the source said.