Prince Harry: Can he be removed from the line of succession?

In January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step down from their roles as senior Royals within the British Royal Family. What followed was intense turmoil for the Royal Family, as the Sussex couple went on to publicly criticise them.

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It started with their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey and continued with Prince Harry’s memoir Spare—which, according to a friend, does not ‘trash’ his Royal relatives. Not just Harry, but Meghan Markle is also estranged from her family, except for her mother, Doria Ragland.

Prince Harry’s position in the line of succession at risk

Despite Harry’s strained relationship with the Royals, his children were given the titles of Prince and Princess, as per royal protocol. However, there have been frequent calls for revoking Harry and Meghan’s titles due to their harsh criticism of the Royal Family.

Amidst this, a source has claimed that the Royal Family may not only consider removing their titles but may also consider removing them from the line of succession, reports the Daily Record. Currently, Prince Harry is fifth in the line of succession after Prince William and his three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The source said:

The order of succession can be altered by statute if a member of the Royal Family permanently resides outside the UK and no longer undertakes royal duties.

If that were to happen, Harry's children could also be removed from the line of succession.

A constitutional law professor at King's College London, Robert Blackburn, has said that while living abroad cannot be considered a legal disqualification, Harry could still be removed from the line of succession through an Act of Parliament.

Many Acts of Parliament have changed the law of succession or imposed conditions for monarchs, such as the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701. Edward VIII, who voluntarily abdicated the throne, was replaced by King George VI through an Act of Parliament. In line with this, Blackburn claims:

Like Edward VIII, Prince Harry does not wish to perform the role of royalty expected of him and has withdrawn to live abroad. Presumably therefore Prince Harry would be agreeable to abdicate his place in succession if for any reason this became an issue in royal affairs being legislated upon.

Meghan Markle wants Prince Harry to ‘move on’

The report comes after a friend of Harry previously said that he ‘misses being in Britain.’ The friend told The Times:

He's an angry boy. Things haven't turned out how he wanted. I think he misses being over here [in Britain] desperately and wants to be admired more.

Anyone who knows him feels he'd rather be top of the pops here with everyone loving him, as they do with William and Kate.

Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! Magazine that this might be ‘frustrating’ for Meghan, who may want Harry to ‘move on’ from his past. She explained:

If Meghan is encouraging Harry to leave the past behind and move on, then I think it is a healthy move. They have made their decision, left the working royal family and left the UK.