
Meghan Markle sparks fury as she breaks royal exit agreement she had with late Queen
Meghan Markle has sparked controversy after she was seen writing her 'HRH' title on a gift card, which goes against the agreement the Sussexes had with the late Queen Elizabeth as a part of their Royal Family departure rules. The duchess, 43, sent a gift hamper to a podcast host along with a card which read: "with the compliments of HRH, Duchess of Sussex". The former Suits actress starred on the podcast of Jamie Kern Lima, the founder of IT Cosmetics, for her first ever podcast interview, where she discussed a range of subjects including her children and her newly-launched business, As Ever. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were previously ordered to stop using their HRH titles during the Sandringham Summit, famously branded 'Megxit', which was a pivotal meeting held on January 13 2020 at Her Majesty's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England. The assembly saw senior members of the Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth II, the then Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry gather to discuss the terms and conditions of the Sussexes' decision to 'step back' from their royal roles. Meghan joined in remotely from Canada, where she was living with their son Archie at the time. Kate Middleton and the now Queen Camilla were not present at the summit, which was strictly limited to the heads of the four royal households, the Mirror reports. During their meeting, it was agreed among all attendees that Harry and Meghan would no longer be able to make use of their 'HRH' titles. The couple previously wrote on their official website: "As agreed and set out in January, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will retain their 'HRH' prefix, thereby formally remaining known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer actively use their HRH titles as they will no longer be working members of the family as of Spring 2020." The pair announced their decision to 'step back as senior members' of the Royal Family on Instagram on January 8 2020. The late Queen Elizabeth released a statement at the time, confirming her support for their desire to start a new life in the States. Although she expressed her preference for them to remain full-time working royals despite their lifestyle change. Other key takeaways of the Sandringham Summit included a transition period in which Harry and Meghan were allowed space to divide their time between the UK and Canada, which allowed them to create a more independent life while still remaining part of the Firm. The duke and duchess also expressed a want to become financially independent, giving up public funds and the Sovereign Grant, which previously funded their official duties. In addition to this, the couple agreed they would no longer make use of their 'Royal Highness' titles and would no longer participate in the royal rota media system in an attempt to gain greater control over their public image. During the interview, Meghan applauded her husband for her support as she launched her business and reflected on the early days of their romance when they were attempting to keep their romance on the down low. She described how the start of their relationship was like "butterflies" but admitted that when news of them dating came out they "went into the trenches together".
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
How a French sex worker got away with murder by blackmailing Edward VIII
Play on Apple Spotify On the first episode of a new ' Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things' podcast series, Royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Kate Williams examine the 'objectionable' love lives of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. This three-part miniseries aims to definitely answer the question of whether the controversial Royal couple are deserving of their notorious reputation. Scandal followed King Edward VIII after his unlikely romance with the twice-divorced American socialite. The King's unprecedented decision in 1936 to abdicate and leave the throne to his younger brother in order to marry Ms Simpson changed the course of British history, leading to the reign of the nation's longest serving monarch Elizabeth II. Even before the pair met and broke with Royal tradition, King Edward was displaying signs he may be unworthy of the crown as early as the First World War. This first episode explores the scandals of Edward's youth, kept under wraps in their day, which expose the soon-to-be King's dubious character. Edward's Liaison with a Murderous Courtesan Young Prince Edward was deemed the British Empire's most eligible bachelor. He was tall, handsome and a would-be King. In 1914, at the onset of the First World War, a 20-year-old Edward joined the Grenadier Guards, leaving Britain for France to help the war effort. On the insistence of Secretary of State Lord Kitchener, Edward never saw any frontline action and was appointed a Staff Captain, an administrative role. Two years into the war, Edward had been gotten drunk by some senior officers and they prompted him to lose his virginity in a French brothel. He eagerly obliged, as Mail columnist Hardman explained: 'Edward got very drunk at a dinner in Amiel and he was then introduced to a popular girl in town named Paulette. 'She was already attached to an officer in the Royal Flying Corps, but I think everyone decided he could spare her for this important duty. 'She took him to bed and this night of passion was by all accounts a great success. It made a lifelong impression on Edward himself. 'Afterwards he writes, all I think of is women now.' After sleeping with a prostitute, the Prince of Wales then turned his wandering eyes to a more serious paramour, a Parisian courtesan by the name of Marguerite Alibert. Unlike the Prince, 17-year-old Marguerite had a difficult upbringing, as Kate Williams told the podcast. 'Marguerite is the daughter of a coachman. Her little brother was killed by a lorry and her parents blame her for it. 'They send her to a Catholic school in Paris where Marguerite gets pregnant and then expelled. 'She's quickly snapped up by one of these high-end brothels. She's only 16 at the time and this is the only way she can earn money. 'Marguerite works her way up to becoming a courtesan to much older men, which she is very good at – marrying clients and receiving generous divorce settlements.' In 1917, Marguerite is introduced to Edward, and they begin a very intense love affair. Edward sends 20 letters to the courtesan, featuring explicit sexual details. 'They're very explicit – they'd ruin his reputation if they ever got out', Williams said. Knowing that the prince would soon be forced to leave her, Marguerite cleverly kept hold of the letters as an 'insurance policy' if she ever found herself in trouble with the law. She would need the letters six years later, as Robert Hardman explained: 'Marguerite ended up in a particularly miserable marriage with an Egyptian aristocrat. 'She ends up murdering him at the Savoy Hotel. It all goes to court – with the courtesan tried in London.' The former Courtesan shot her husband three times - in the neck, back and head - in what is seen as an 'open and shut case'. However, as Hardman told the podcast: 'Marguerite presents the letters to the prosecution and threatened to make them public. Some kind of deal is done. 'Afterwards the case was not pursued with any great alacrity, almost certainly thanks to her earlier liaison with the Prince of Wales.' Marguerite was acquitted of all charges. The letters were so decisive in the case not only because of they revealed the affair, but also due to the Edward's moaning about the war effort. 'These letters aren't just love letters', Williams said. 'Within them, he's also critical of his father George V and there were also criticisms of how World War One was organised and fought. 'There were whispers at the time Marguerite had a relationship with Edward, but no one could prove it because they were buried in her chest at home.' To hear more Royal scandals like this one, search for 'Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things' now, wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released every Thursday.


Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Prince Andrew appears in high spirits as he enjoys horse ride around Windsor
Prince Andrew looked to be in high spirits as he joined his late mother's long-standing stud groom Terry Pendry for a horse ride around Windsor today. The King's younger brother, 65, beamed in excitement as he sported riding gear, including a helmet and gloves, along with a khaki jacket this afternoon. Alongside him was Mr Pendry, who rode with Queen Elizabeth for 28 years and was one of her most loved and trusted servants. On July 18, 2022, less than eight weeks before her death, she came down to the stables as usual to see her beloved horse Emma, bringing the steed a bag of carrots. There was, Mr Pendry has said, a quiet sense of finality to the 96-year-old's purpose, although nothing was said. The servant, who at one time looked after around 100 of the Royal Family 's horses and ponies, said: 'The very last time with her wasn't a ride, I walked. She was quite frail. 'She actually ended up being smaller than Queen Elizabeth [her mother], her last four years when she was quite poorly.' This afternoon, Mr Pendry sported a button-up shirt and tie along with a beige riding helmet as he joined Prince Andrew for the day out. Elsewhere, snaps from the day showed the royal at the wheel of a car, sporting a burgundy top. It comes amid a tumultuous time for Charles's brother, after Virginia Giuffre 's lawyer demanded an apology from Andrew in the wake of her death - after her family revealed she was prevented from seeing her children for months before she died. Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored in April, David Boies said the Prince had to take responsibility and even went on to request King Charles to intervene. 'I'd like to have him say, "I'm sorry", he sort of said that, but I'd like him to be more direct about that,' the acclaimed American attorney said defiantly on the talk show. 'I'd like him to say, even if he doesn't remember what happened, I think he needs to recognise that he had, he clearly had sex with young girls, with Jeffrey Epstein. 'I mean, he may not remember that it was Virginia, but he can't forget the event. And he needs to just come clean.' Virginia claimed Jeffrey Epstein and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell kept her as a sex slave, flying her around the world for sex with powerful associates. She later accused the Duke of York of sexually assaulting her when she was 17 after she was trafficked to London. It led to him 'stepping back' from public life in 2019. He has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing. She then launched a civil lawsuit, alleging she was coerced into having sex with him. In 2022 the Duke agreed an out-of-court settlement – thought to be between £3 million and £12 million – despite denying he sexually abused her. The mother-of-three was found dead at her farm near Perth, Australia, on April 25, in what was believed to have been a suicide. Following her sudden death at the age of 41, Boies said: 'It's just a question of taking responsibility, accepting responsibility for what happened. Maybe he has a version of what happened, but he can't deny that he was with her. 'I mean, you've got the photograph, you've got the testimony from other people. Continuing to deny he didn't know her, he never met her, he had nothing to do with her. That's not productive. It's also not right. 'I think that he needs to take responsibility for what he did. Virginia was always more interested in fighting the sin than attacking the sinner, and I think that she would have accepted Prince Andrew taking responsibility, and would have recognised that. 'And I think that it's not too late. It's never too late… If he wants redemption, if he wants forgiveness, he's got to take responsibility for what happened. 'He came pretty close in that statement. It was a step in the right direction. And I think I hoped, and I think Virginia hoped, that he would take the next step as well. Andrew was pictured behind the wheel of a car from photos taken this afternoon, when he enjoyed a horse ride 'Unfortunately, for whatever reason, maybe his advisors, he didn't. But I think, as I say, it's not too late for him or for anyone'. MailOnline approached Prince Andrew's representatives for comment at the time. Karrie Louden, Giuffre's lawyer, told The Sun that the mother had showed 'no signs' of wanting to end her life. 'We've got big question marks over it. There's suicide, then there's misadventure', she said. Louden added that Virginia was planning the future, and looking forward to it just this time last week, and that 'things were positive'. 'The police were just very, very vague. I know that she's gone but I don't know. I'm not sure we'll ever know'. The Perth coroner confirmed their own investigation, but the report could take two years. Before she died, family members had expressed fears over her mental state. Her father Sky Roberts said his daughter was 'very depressed' and 'in really bad shape'. Speaking to People, Roberts explained his daughter had been grappling with the complexities of a restraining order her husband had taken out against her in February that prevented her from seeing her children aged 19, 16, and 15, until June. He claimed she had violated the order, which she denied. 'It's the worst pain in the world to not have access to your children,' Roberts said. 'Can you imagine the pain? I will tell you, all the physical (pain) will never amount to the pain of being separated from your children in that way.' Before she died, Virginia had been allegedly physically abused by her husband of 22 years, Robert Giuffre, the father of her three children, from whom she separated in 2023, Sky and sister-in-law Amanda said. Her husband has not responded to the allegations. Friends of the 41-year-old also said Giuffre was 'deeply upset' about being mocked over a picture she posted of herself in a hospital bed last month. She claimed she had been involved in a car crash that left her with only four days to live – but the accident was nothing more than a minor bump. A spokesman for Virginia said she had 'made a mistake' and had not intended to make the post public. But it led to claims that the episode had destroyed her credibility, with some of Andrew's supporters calling her a 'fantasist'. Emergency services received a report about a woman found unresponsive at a home in Neergabby, 12 miles north of Perth, at about 9.50pm local time on Friday. She was declared dead at the scene. 'She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,' said her family's statement. Two weeks earlier, Virginia posted several photographs of her three 'beautiful babies', writing: 'I miss them so very much. I have been through hell and back in my 41 years but this is incredibly hurting me worse than anything else. Hurt me, abuse me but don't take my babies. My heart is shattered and every day that passes my sadness only deepens.' Following her death, Boies told Piers Morgan: 'She was an extraordinarily strong woman, ultimately brought down by years of abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and then later years of verbal abuse and attacks by [his] collaborators, but she accomplished a great deal without her courage and without her coming forward, Jeffrey Epstein would probably still be abusing young girls'.

Leader Live
16 hours ago
- Leader Live
David Beckham to guest edit edition of Country Life Magazine
The former England captain and businessman will join the editorial team for the October 22 edition of the magazine with the aim of celebrating what the countryside means to him and his family. He follows in the footsteps of Royal Family members who previously joined the editor-in chief Mark Hedges at the helm, including the King, the Princess Royal and the Queen. Beckham said: 'I am honoured to have been invited to guest edit an edition of a magazine that I have always admired and read. 'I am really looking forward to working with the editorial team to produce an issue that will celebrate what the countryside and the great British landscape means to me and my family.' This comes as Beckham is to be awarded a knighthood in the King's Birthday Honours, according to reports by The Sun. The football star regularly documents his life in the countryside by posting pictures and videos on his Instagram including him harvesting vegetables, gardening and his flock of chickens. Mark Hedges, Country Life editor-in-chief, said: 'I know he has a deep love of the countryside, which has grown since he retired as a professional footballer, although he is, of course, still extremely busy as a businessman and an ambassador for a host of causes, such as Unicef and The King's Foundation, as well as being co-owner of Inter Miami CF in the US and Salford City Football Club in the UK. 'As someone who is passionate about the countryside, I'm excited to see what his special commemorative issue will bring.' The one-off edition aims to highlight how the countryside has played an important part in Beckham's life. It will feature his favourite view, his best-loved recipe and spotlight his rural champions, including the craftsmen and woman who helped shape his home in the Cotswolds. Beckham, who played for his country 115 times, is the only Englishman to score at three different World Cups and his career included the treble-winning campaign of 1998-99, when Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. He earned the third highest number of England caps of all time for the men's team, and was captain on 59 occasions. The former winger married Spice Girl Victoria, also known as Posh Spice, in 1999.