Queen Elizabeth’s firm stance on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s unauthorized Royal merchandise

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were known for their desire to do things differently during their time as senior royals – but one move in particular caused the Queen to ‘hit back’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been embroiled in a whirlwind of drama since their departure from the Royal family. However, one incident reportedly made the late Queen draw a line in the sand.

In his biography “Battle of Brothers,” Royal historian Robert Lacey alleges that Meghan and Harry’s decision to sell merchandise under their own Royal trademark ‘Sussex Royal’ without the Queen’s approval was the last straw that led the “family to finally hit back.” It’s not uncommon for members of The Firm to produce their own goods; King Charles sells a variety of organic products in his Duchy Originals range, and Royal residences across the country offer souvenirs for visitors.

But crucially, Harry and Meghan didn’t secure consent from the late monarch before they unveiled their plan. The couple is said to have spent thousands of pounds trademarking a range of products, from T-shirts to bandanas.

Lacey penned: “Once again Harry had totally failed to consult the Queen about a major initiative affecting his royal work and image – and the image of the crown as a whole. The family finally hit back. Elizabeth II had always had a soft spot for Harry, and she had been delighted by the arrival of Meghan, whose personal energies seemed to complement her grandson’s so well.”

“As Head of the Commonwealth and reigning over an ever more multicultural society in Britain, the Queen had especially welcomed the exciting new dimension that a mixed-race recruit brought to the Windsor identity – and as we shall see later in this series, she herself had spotted when things were going wrong, and had helped devise a strategy she firmly hoped would make things easier for the couple.”

“But there were some matters on which Elizabeth II would not compromise – and chief among them was the authority of the crown. By not disclosing their plans to market merchandise under their own royal trademark, Harry and Meghan had trespassed dangerously on that authority. To commercialize the crown required the crown’s consent – and the Sussexes had not sought that.”

The late monarch had previously been forced to address the couple about their behavior. Author Katie Nicholl recalled one “tense” exchange in her book The New Royals, writing that in the run-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding, the bride-to-be went to Windsor Castle for a menu-tasting and clashed with one of the caterers over a dish which was supposed to be vegan.

Nicholl wrote: “Meghan was at the castle to taste some of the dishes and told one of the caterers she could taste egg. She got quite upset, saying that the dish was meant to be vegan and macrobiotic, when suddenly the Queen walked in and said: ‘Meghan, in this family we don’t speak to people like that.'”