A royal expert has opened up about the name Meghan Markle would go by if she were to lose her title as the Duchess of Sussex.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s roles and titles have been under scrutiny since 2020, when the couple announced they would be stepping down from their roles as senior royals.

Since then, Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, have been living in California with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.

While the pair’s official titles remain the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, royal expert Ingrid Seward has explained what they will be known as if King Charles III decides to strip them of their titles.

Meghan Markle would be known as something else entirely. Credit: Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images

According to Seward, who is editor in chief of Majesty Magazine, Meghan would then be known as “Princess Henry”.

If you’re wondering where ‘Henry’ came from, that’s actually Harry’s real first name, with him being born Prince Henry Charles Albert David, and it being royal tradition that a princess takes an official title with her husband’s name.

Seward told The Royal Beat, as reported by The Mirror, that the reality of it actually happening remains quite unlikely.

Seward explained: “I don’t think anything will happen to the titles because, if they lose their titles, Harry is still a prince of the blood and Meghan instead of being the Duchess of Sussex, [would] be Princess Henry.

“That really would [confuse the Americans]. I think [it’s] probably best just to leave it because it looks unkind, it looks unnecessary.”

Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals in 2020. Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen

She added: “The Queen gave them the titles, let them keep them – they’re going to be ‘H and M’ anyway.

“I think the best thing is to leave them, ignore them, and let them get on with it – which is really what the Palace and the Royal Family are doing.”

The rule of a princess going by her husband’s name would also apply to Kate Middleton, who is technically known as Princess William since her marriage in 2011, however, the public knows her best as the Princess of Wales or her former title the Duchess of Cambridge.

While Seward believes Harry and Meghan’s titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are safe, royal author Tom Quinn recently claimed that King Charles, 75, and Prince William, 41, “have had lengthy discussions about stripping” the couple of their royal titles.

The couple only returns to the UK for important occasions, such as Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

He told the outlet last month that the pair haven’t wanted to go ahead with it, explaining: “They are terrified this would backfire and make the situation worse. The last thing they want is to give the renegade royals something else to complain about.

“William and his father know that even without their royal titles Meghan and Harry would carry on traveling the world as if they were royals and most people in the world will still welcome them.”

The pair have had an allegedly strained relationship with the Royal Family since announcing their decision to leave The Firm, with Harry flying back to the UK infrequently for important occasions, such as his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and after his father, King Charles III, was diagnosed with cancer.