Tens of thousands sign petition calling for Prince Harry to give up royal titles

As many as 25,000 people have signed a petition started by royal expert Lady Colin Campbell demanding that Prince Harry give up all royal titles to be able to indulge his personal beliefs without consequence to himself or the British monarchy.

The purpose of the Change.org appeal is to invite Prince Harry to “voluntarily” ask the Queen to put his “royal style, titles and rank into abeyance.”

“As a purely private citizen, with no royal rank, style or title, he (Harry) will be able to indulge his personal beliefs, as is the right of all private citizens, without the consequential possibility of damaging the institution of the Monarchy or relations between Friendly Powers, and will be free to articulate beliefs, no matter how objectionable, without the fallout that is otherwise inevitable as long as he possesses royal status,” says the petition description.

Ms Campbell, who wrote the book Meghan and Harry: The Real Story told The Daily Star: "I started it (the petition) because I think it’s the right thing to do.”

“I have spoken to people, many people, who think it’s the right thing to do and it is the solution,” she said.

"It is the best solution because it frees Harry to be able to indulge himself without consequence and without doing damage to the institution of the monarchy of the British nation, the British people and himself,” the 71-year-old biographer says.

Ms Campbell also states that the Duke of Sussex “doesn’t need” the royal titles as “he is too big for them now” as he “still gets publicity and attention.”

"They (Harry and Meghan) will still be able to sell their brand, capitalise upon their identity, but at least it will be in a way there can be no confusion about the fact that he is doing it as an individual and not as a member of the royal family that has duties to the nation and to the people of this nation,” the Jamaican-born British writer said.

Earlier this month, senior aides at Buckingham Palace also called on the royal couple to give up their titles after Prince Harry’s latest tell-all interview in the US.

The prince is said to have left senior royals baffled by his “disgraceful” and “woeful lack of compassion” when he appeared last week on an episode of actor Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast.

The 36-year-old royal told Mr Shepard that he and Meghan, who are expecting their second child, moved to the US to break the cycle of “genetic pain.”

Speaking about his father, Harry said: “He’s treated me the way that he was treated. There’s a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway. Isn’t life about breaking the cycle? There’s no blame.”

He also compared life as a royal to “a mixture between The Truman Show and being in a zoo” – referring to the 1998 Jim Carrey film about a man who is oblivious to the fact that his entire life is a TV show.

The petition can be found here.