# So, is Meghan still the Duchess of Sussex or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880 "2024-03-15T15:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/21 "2024-03-16T14:42:27Z")
Wasn’t Charles investiture as Prince of Wales at Carnarvon Castle a political move because of the unhappiness of the Welsh at the time? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/22 "2024-03-16T14:45:32Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > they had to make a new one for Charles with ping-pong balls ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/23 "2024-03-16T16:34:09Z")
One of the points Meaghan made in her first interview with Oprah, IIRC, was that Archie was not eligible for security since security was (she said) only available to children and grandchildren of the monarch. I presume if Harry were to kiss and make up, their children would get security back in the UK now. Odd, considering Eddy8 also was a great-grandchild of reigning monarch, so these things happen, but I suppose things were different back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/24 "2024-03-16T17:10:26Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > So presumably, the King could create a new title of Duke of Sussex and Somethingsomething, arguing that it’s distinct from Duke of Sussex. Duke of Susssex Duke of Susex Duke of Ssussex Duke of Ssusex Duke of Susseks Duke of Susseven ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/25 "2024-03-16T21:07:52Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Wasn’t Charles investiture as Prince of Wales at Carnarvon Castle a political move because of the unhappiness of the Welsh at the time? I read that once. And that David Lloyd George taught him a few words of Welsh for the ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/26 "2024-03-16T21:27:41Z")
According to the documentary The Crown, he went to school in Wales and legitimately learned to speak rudimentary Welsh. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/27 "2024-03-16T21:55:32Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > And that David Lloyd George taught him a few words of Welsh for the ceremony. That would be quite a trick for the Welsh Wizard, considering he died three years before Charles was born. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/28 "2024-03-16T22:03:30Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > > > And that David Lloyd George taught him a few words of Welsh for the ceremony. > > That would be quite a trick for the Welsh Wizard, considering he died three years before Charles was born Ha! That’s just what the Cymruminnati _want_ you to think! Okay, clearly my memory was playing me false. But according to Unca Cecil, Charles did say a few Welsh phrases at his investiture. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/29 "2024-03-18T15:46:10Z")
Charles was seconded from his degree at Cambridge where he was reading Archaeology, Anthropology and History to Aberystwyth for a term to acquaint him with Welsh History and Language. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/30 "2024-03-25T07:29:00Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > She is still the Duchess of Sussex. What you’re probably remembering is all the news about Meghan’s son, Archie. They wanted him to be styled as Master despite being entitled to go as Earl of Dumbarton. Yes, of course. “Master Archie” is far more typical as a form of address than “Lord Dumbarton”. IIRC the Sussexes were deprived of the style HRH, which seems to be considered more important in royal circles than mere titles like Duke and Duchess. In general, I doubt that the Crown really cares to take away peerage titles, once granted, barring extreme cases of treason or other crimes, because that would be seen as correcting a mistake. For example, during World War I some German cousins of the Royal Family, holding titles in both countries, were deprived of their British titles because they fought on the German side during the war. But moving to Montecito doesn’t come anywhere near that level. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/31 "2024-03-25T09:52:36Z")
The “Crown” has no power to “take away peerage titles”. Peerages are political appointments and can only be removed by an act of parliament. The most recent act that did this was the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 (TDA). This does not prevent peers from voluntarily giving their title up as was the recent case of Paula Vennells, the former chief executive of Britain’s Post Office, who said on Tuesday she would hand back a national honour after mounting public anger over the wrongful conviction of postal staff on her watch. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/32 "2024-03-25T18:59:17Z")
A Bill of Attainder would be another way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/33 "2024-03-26T12:41:01Z")
That’s the same thing. A bill of attainder is simply a punishment imposed directly by the legislature, i.e., in British terms, an Act of Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/34 "2024-03-26T13:28:22Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Charles was seconded from his degree Can you translate that into American English? I can’t tell from context if that meant he failed or was awarded an honor. > [@Mk\_VII](#): > > A Bill of Attainder would be another way to do it. But that’s unconstitutional! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/35 "2024-03-26T14:25:09Z")
The Constitution is whatever Parliament says it is. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/36 "2024-03-26T14:30:02Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Can you translate that into American English? I can’t tell from context if that meant he failed or was awarded an honor. I don’t think it’s either - I know “seconded” in an employment context means to temporarily transfer someone to a different location, position or organization so my guess is that in this context it means he left the university he was attending to attend a university in Wales for some period of time and returned to and ultimately received a degree from the original university. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/37 "2024-03-26T14:30:17Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Bill of Attainder would be another way to do it. Next they’ll be issuing letters of marque. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/38 "2024-03-30T02:57:04Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Peerages are political appointments and can only be removed by an act of parliament. The most recent act that did this was the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 (TDA). Yes, the TDA is what I was referring to. I wasn’t aware that the granting of honors has to be approved by Parliament, so thanks for pointing that out. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/39 "2024-03-30T02:58:52Z")
No, the granting of peerages doesn’t have to be approved by Parliament. However, outside the narrow confines of the Royal Family, granting a peerage to a non-Royal is a political decision, made by the monarch on the advice of the government (executive, not legislative). Once granted, a peerage is a type of right, and therefore can only be taken away by an act of Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880/40 "2025-03-04T22:25:12Z")
I had considered Meghan to be one of the worthless, idle rich with servants catering to her every whim–but it seems I am wrong: > For those who have been hiding in a bunker for completely understandable reasons, With Love, Meghan sees the Duchess of Sussex cooking, flower arranging, candle making, jarring preserves, scenting towels with lavender, making harvest baskets, blowing balloon arches, arranging fruit into rainbows and sprinkling dried edible flowers on literally everything. Creating “moments” is her jam. Though jam, which usually contains equal parts and sugar and fruit, is very much _not_ her jam because she feels the traditional recipe ratio detracts from the fruit, so actually she’s all about slightly less sweet preserves. > **[With Love, Meghan review – toe-curlingly unlovable TV](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/04/with-love-meghan-review-netflix)** > > The Duchess of Sussex’s tone-deaf lifestyle show vibrates with vacuous joylessness – and is packed with useless information that will take a long, long time to remove from your head [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-meghan-still-the-duchess-of-sussex-or-not/998880.md?page=3)