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Prince Harry to follow in Princess Diana's footsteps and be styled 'Harry, Duke of Sussex'

Prince Harry is to follow in his mum Princess Diana's footsteps and be styled "Harry, Duke of Sussex" [Image: Getty]
Prince Harry is to follow in his mum Princess Diana's footsteps and be styled "Harry, Duke of Sussex" [Image: Getty]

Last night, it was revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be losing their “royal highness” titles under a new agreement with the Queen.

The Daily Mail report that the couple will now be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

This echoes the form of address given to Princess Diana when she divorced Prince Charles in 1996.

Her HRH title was taken away and she became known as Diana, Princess of Wales.

READ MORE: Full list of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's current patronages

Before her 1981 royal wedding, she was called Lady Diana Spencer - and sometimes, less formally, Lady Di.

When she officially parted ways with the Queen’s son - after a separation from 1992 - the Palace claimed that she had given up the title voluntarily.

According to the paper, there were discussions a year later in 1997 when she died suddenly about whether to restore HRH to her name posthumously.

However, the decision was made not to after her family insisted it would be against her wishes.

Prince Harry's mum was also stripped of her HRH title following divorce from Prince Charles [Image: Getty]
Prince Harry's mum was also stripped of her HRH title following divorce from Prince Charles [Image: Getty]

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At her funeral, her brother Earl Spencer said that she “needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic”.

When Prince Andrews’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson divorced him in 1996, she also lost her HRH title and became known as Sarah, Duchess of York.

In a statement released yesterday, Buckingham Palace said: “The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.”

Harry, who has been styled an HRH since birth, will remain a prince and sixth-in-line to the throne.

READ MORE: How a royal is stripped of their title

Along with his wife, the 35-year-old will keep the Sussex title given to them by the Queen on the morning of their wedding.

Meghan, 38, became known as HRH after marrying into the royal family.

Their eight-month-old son Archie is not an HRH or prince and they declined for him to use the title Earl of Dumbarton and chose for their little boy to be styled ‘Master’ rather than ‘Lord’.

The changes come after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed on their Instagram last week that they planned to “step back” as senior members of the royal family.

READ MORE: The other royals who stepped back from duties: Here's what they did next

Under a new deal, they will also no longer receive public funds for their work and will repay £2.4m of taxpayers’ money spent renovating Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK home.

In a statement, the Queen said “together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.”

The monarch continued: "I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.

"It is my whole family's hope that today's agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.”

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