Royal Fans Are Calling Prince Harry Out On Twitter For Misusing Royal Titles In His Bombshell Court Testimony: ‘Intentional?
June 11, 2023 by Carrie McCabe
Prince Harry‘s court testimony has contained a lot of juicy tidbits and bombshell accusations, but one more subtle aspect has royal fans on Twitter in a tizzy—and it has to do with something as simple as the usage of royal titles.
In Harry’s 55-page witness statement for his phone hacking case, there seems to be an error regarding his father Charles’ royal title: in the statement, Harry calls him “HRH (His Royal Highness) King Charles III.” The “HRH” was Charles’ previous title; now, as monarch, he should be referred to has “His Majesty“…and royal watchers are wondering if this was an “intentional” flub.
Royal fans are speculating what the usage of Charles’ previous title means within Harry’s testimony, especially since, as one Twitter user put it, “you’d think someone who grew up in the Royal Family might know” which reference should be used:
So why would the Prince make such a “mistake”? Well, it could be due to confusion on how his father should be referenced within the trial—though Charles is now “His Majesty” after being crowned monarch, during the “relevant period” referred to in the trial from 1996 to 2010, Charles was still Prince of Wales and as such, was titled “His Royal Highness”. However, Harry did refer to his brother William in the statement by his current title, “HRH The Prince of Wales, my brother.”