Despite acrimoniously stepping down as senior working royals in January 2020, full profiles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex separately had remained up alongside of the rest of the Royal Family until this morning.
Tonight those pictures and biographies briefly vanished completely.
Within half an hour they were replaced with a significantly smaller, joint biography at the very bottom of the page – below the Duke of York.
The Sussexes’ entry now reads that they have stepped back as working royals, with just a couple of short paragraphs on each of them.
Despite growing public anger at their continued inclusion, Buckingham Palace has always side-stepped questions about why their details remained online despite the couple quitting royal duties four years ago and launching repeated attacks on the royal family in print and television interviews.
It has been suggested that the palace press office was ‘slowly’ updating the website following the death of Queen Elizabeth and would ‘get round to it in time’.
Harry’s original profile described him as fifth in line to the throne and the younger son of The King and Diana, Princess of Wales.
His 2,700-word biography included details of the prince’s early life, education and army career and was peppered with glossy pictures.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been removed from the Royal Family’s official website – four years after Megixt. Pictured: The couple pictured in May 2023
The Royal Family’s website before the Sussexes’ demotion today compared with the site on Monday afternoon – where neither royal appeared
The Royal Family’s official website as of Monday evening, showing the couple alongside the Duke of York
It also included details of his work setting up the Invictus Games, children with HIV/Aids and sporting initiatives, as well as African conservation and as his joint work on the mental health Heads Together initiative with the Prince and Princess of Wales.
There was also an entire section devoted entitled ‘Supporting the Monarch’, which included his time as a working royal for his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
It stated he represented her at events in the UK and abroad, as well as attending state and ceremonial occasions, including Remembrance events.
Meghan’s separate profile was slightly shorter – around 1,300 words – and included her education and career as an actress, as well as the charitable engagements she undertook during her brief time as a member of the Royal Family.
Interestingly, there was no mention of her parents, including her own family including estranged father Thomas Markle.
In what many will view as a marked downgrading of their status, however, the couple now only share a joint biography showing a picture of them arm in arm on a beach in South Africa, with a combined word count of just 577 words.
They are the only married members of the Royal Family now not to have their own individual profiles.
Harry’s includes just a few words about his birth and upbringing, as well as his career in the armed forces and work with the Invictus Games.
Harry’s original profile described him as fifth in line to the throne and the younger son of The King and Diana, Princess of Wales. Pictured: Prince Harry and Prince William attending the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022
Meghan’s separate profile was slightly shorter – around 1,300 words – and included her education and career as an actress. Pictured: Harry and Meghan together in March 2019, before Megixt
Buckingham Palace declined to comment tonight but noted that website design and content is updated from ‘time to time’. Pictured: King Charles and Prince Harry pictured together in 2019
Meghan’s merely says she was an actress and ran a website, as well as briefly including her patronages as a working royal and her official titles.
Their new entry begins by stating they stepped back at as working royals in January 2020 and concludes with the three official statements released by Buckingham Palace between 2020 and 2021 official confirming their departure.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment but noted that website design and content is updated from ‘time to time’.
A source said the couple’s separate pages had been combined into one as part of a routine update of content. A ‘technical glitch’ meant it took a while for the system to update to include the new joint profile.
Last month Harry and Meghan launched a new personal website, Sussex.com, which persistently refers to them by their titles, and uses the coat of arms Meghan was given when she married Harry.
A picture of the couple’s dominates the main web page overlaid with the text: ‘The Office of Prince Harry & Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.’
The Sussexes’ removal from the Royal Family ‘s website comes just days after Meghan launched her latest business venture – American Riviera Orchard under her official title the Duchess of Sussex .
The Sussexes’ demotion on the Royal Family’s website comes just days after Meghan launched her latest business venture – American Riviera Orchard under her official title the Duchess of Sussex.
Royal experts claimed the project – which will see Meghan, selling products such as cooking utensils and jams – was just another attempt for the California-based royals to ‘cash in’ on Meghan’s royal status.
Others said it could be a breach of the agreement they struck with the late Queen, which said that publicity materials make no attempts to hide Meghan’s royal links or her brand’s nakedly commercial nature.
Meghan’s biographer Tom Bower said the initiative flies in the face of the Sussexes’ vow to the former Queen not to trade off their royal connections following the so-called ‘Sandringham Summit’ in 2022.
He told : ‘Meghan and Harry promised they would not use their titles as commercial vehicles and they have broken that understanding. The only solution is for the King to strip the Sussexes of their titles. Hopefully he will find the resilience.’
The website snub also coincides with the fourth anniversary of their ‘freedom’ day – the date they moved from Canada to California following Megixt – which they celebrated on Friday.
The website snub comes as the Sussexes’ celebrated the anniversary of their ‘freedom’ day on Friday, which marked four years since they arrived in the United States
King Charles has sought a ‘slimmed down monarchy’ which has seen half the number of working royals compared with 2017. Pictured: The King and Queen Camilla on their Coronation Day last May
The official Coronation portrait of the Royal Family taken in May 2023. It reveals Charles’ slimmed down monarchy
Ever since the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022, King Charles has sought a ‘slimmed down monarchy’ which has seen half the number of working royals compared with 2017.
Back then, royal engagements such as trips abroad, investitures and state functions, were covered by 12 senior and around six minor working royals.
By 2024, however, there were only seven working royals – the King and Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – alongside minor royals such as The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Yet a series of health woes to hit the royal family in January, with the King being diagnosed with an unnamed cancer and Kate undergoing planned abdominal surgery within days of each other, laid bare the reality of a stripped back monarchy.
The monarch has taken a step back from his public facing duties, although continues to meet the Prime Minister for his weekly audiences and still reads through his daily red boxes as he undergoes treatment.
Meanwhile, Kate left the hospital on January 29 – almost two weeks after her surgery – and returned to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor. Kensington Palace said she would be stepping back from public duty as she recovers.
The reality of the smaller-functioning royal family was revealed dramatically last month when Prince Andrew and his divorced wife Fergie, the Duchess of York, led the royal reserves into a thanksgiving service for the late King Constantine of Greece.
The Duke of York took a step back from royal life after he settled a sexual assault case filed against him by Virginia Giuffre , a sex slave victim of Andrew’s friend Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew and his divorced wife Fergie, the Duchess of York, led the royal reserves into a thanksgiving service for the late King Constantine of Greece last month
The Princess of Wales is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter. She is pictured with her husband Prince William and her children during her last public appearance on Christmas Day
Kensington Palace released the picture of the Princess of Wales since surgery
Yet after Prince William was forced to miss the memorial service to his late godfather for unexplained ‘personal reasons’, with Queen Camilla arriving separately, Andrew was seen beaming as he led the other royals into the service at Windsor Castle.
One royal watcher told : ‘Prince Andrew and the Yorks are firmly back in the fold’.
The Princess of Wales, who made her last public engagement at Sandringham on Christmas Day, is expected to return to public duty after April 17, when her children start back at Lambrook School, near Ascot, following the Easter Holidays.
Despite Kensington Palace laying out a clear timeline for Kate’s recovery and return to her work as a senior royal, her visible absence from public life has sparked a tsunami of speculation and crazed conspiracy theories about her wellbeing.
In recent weeks, wild rumours – fuelled by social media and the foreign press – have speculated over the reason why Kate has not been seen.
‘Katespiracies’ online have ranged from claims she was recovering from a ‘Brazilian bum lift’ or in a coma, a theory sparked by a journalist on Spanish television.
Some joked she was a contestant on The Masked Singer television show – or may have even been bumped from the Royal Family.
Other trolls and conspiracy theorists have used her absence and the lawlessness of social media to spread deeply sinister and highly libelous claims. Even Kim Kardashian has weighed in posting selfies captioned: ‘On my way to go find Kate.’
William and Kate were spotted leaving Windsor for Westminster Abbey to attend The Commonwealth Day Service last Monday
The Princess of Wales has reportedly been spotted out and about for the first time since her abdominal surgery, visiting a local farm shop in Windsor with William. Pictured: Kate in May 2023
According to The Sun, members of the public saw Kate, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, looking ‘happy, healthy and relaxed’. Pictured: The Windsor Farm Shop where the couple were allegedly spotted on Saturday
The absurd claims only intensified when the Princess took the blame for the family photograph released by Kensington Palace on Mother’s Day, which was ‘killed’ by six of the world’s top picture agencies over concerns that it had been ‘manipulated’.
It came after it was pointed out that part of Princess Charlotte‘s sleeve and the misaligned edge of her skirt were missing, with other speculation including the positioning of Kate’s zip.
In addition to the numerous imperfections in the image, viewers also spotted that Kate appeared to not be wearing her wedding ring, which sparked multiple unfounded theories online about the state of her marriage.
The furor on social media led the Princess to make a personal apology on X, writing ‘Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.’
It is understood that Kate had only intended to ‘bring a bit of joy’ and release a reassuring image to thank the public for their ongoing support, and that she and William are both ‘shaken and devastated’ at the speculation about their marriage.
In a much needed boost to the public, however, Kate was spotted out and about for the first time this weekend as she visited The Windsor Farm Shop, about a mile away from Adelaide Cottage.
The Princess of Wales was reportedly spotted looking ‘happy, healthy and relaxed’ alongside William after having watched their three children – George, ten, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five – take part in sports.
A fellow shopper told the Sun: ‘After all the rumours that had been going round I was stunned to see them there. Kate was out shopping with William and she looked happy and she looked well.
‘The kids weren’t with them but it’s such a good sign she was healthy enough to pop down to the shops.’
The appearance is an encouraging sign that she is taking her first steps towards a return to official royal engagements.