I’ve found another reason to love Harry
Huzzah for don’t‑call‑ me‑prince Harry! OK, so he turned his back on Britain, but we forgive him everything. We always do.
Now, he has asked that we refer to him simply as Harry. We always did.
I’m not sure he’s got much choice since his grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen, ordered him to stop using his HRH title and refused to let him monetise his royal status. But his latest exhortation, made at one of his last official duties before Megxit, feels less like a comedown than yet another reason to love him.
Calling him “Harry” just feels natural, comfortable, an acknowledgement that he’s just your everyday, informal prince. I can’t imagine his older brother inviting anyone to call him William, but at least he allows his wife to use his first name.
The Prince of Wales, during his engagement to Lady Diana Spencer, famously insisted she address him as “Sir” until they were married. Under the circumstances, it’s a wonder their “whatever love is” marriage lasted as long as it did. But that whole unfortunate period qualifies as ancient history, and there’s
no disputing we now live in far more egalitarian times.
Which is possibly why a title – and, more saliently, its usage and enforcement – speaks volumes about an individual.
I know a countess by marriage who has put her title on her passport (a countess’s luggage is never misplaced), but otherwise rarely tells a soul.
Most people have no idea that, as the daughter of Charles Henry Allsopp, 6th Baron Hindlip, Kirstie Allsopp may use the courtesy title the Honourable Kirstie Allsopp. To her credit, she never does.
But for our high‑ranking royals, titles are and should continue to be non‑negotiable. The low‑key accessibility of Scandinavian bicycling monarchy is not the British way; we are justifiably proud of our traditions, our heritage and our world‑class pomp and circumstance.
So it seemed inevitable – to us, if not to them – that Harry and Meghan would be made to drop their HRHS, along with the rest of the royal falderal. No one is permitted to be half‑in and half‑out of this family – not even our darling Harry.