Prince Harry Reportedly Thought The Royal Family Didn’t ‘Welcome’ Or ‘Protect’ Meghan Markle

A new report suggests that Prince Harry was not pleased with the way the royal family treated his wife, Meghan Markle. According to an insider who spoke with InTouch Weekly, one of the reasons for the couple’s decision to step back from the royal family had to do with how both Harry and Meghan were treated.

“Harry’s accused the royals of treating him and Meghan differently [than] the rest of the family and says that they didn’t welcome her into the family with open arms or protect her enough. Harry thinks it’s unfair that there’s one rule for him and Meghan and another for his cousins. The way he sees it, [Princesses] Eugenie and Beatrice are allowed to have lives outside of the family and are still royals so why can’t he and Meghan?,” the source said.

The source continued by explaining that neither Harry nor Meghan was happy that they had been forced to give up the “Sussex Royal” title as part of their agreement to step back from the family. The source said that their displeasure was not just because they had spent money on branding the term. They were also upset by the suggestion that they should have to refrain from using it.

The royal family’s decision to ban Harry and Meghan from using “Sussex Royal” was a reversal of the initial agreement that was made following their announcement. In January, it was said that the couple would be allowed to keep their titles, even as they started a more distant relationship with the monarchy.

Ultimately, reporting suggests that the queen decided to keep Harry and Meghan from using their title in order to hold to her principle that royal family members should not be able to use their titles for personal profit. According to Vanity Fair, the queen is hoping to have the whole affair over as quickly as possible for the sake of the monarchy.

Harry, meanwhile, has made his first public appearance since the news broke that he would be dropping his royal title. According to The Daily Mail, Harry spoke at the Travalyst Sustainable Tourism Summit in Edinburgh, Scotland, and asked that he be introduced as simply “Harry.” The decision to go by only his first name could signal how Harry wants to be addressed permanently now that he’s separated from the royal family. It’s also an indication that neither he nor Meghan is actively using their HRH titles.