PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle did not check with the Queen about their newspaper legal battle or using the Sussex Royal trademark, a royal book claims.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to trademark a range of items they wanted to sell a month after Archie was born in 2019 – without the Queen’s permission, claims author Robert Lacey.
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In his recently-updated book, Battle of Brothers, he said the Royal Family was “hopping mad” when they found out Harry and Meghan “failed to consult the Queen”.
He said the couple wanted to “set up shop” – selling items such as bookmarks, bandanas, pyjamas and hoodies under the name Sussex Royal.
Mr Lacey wrote: “A month after Archie’s birth in May 2019, just at the time that their new separate identity from ‘Kensington Royal’ was getting started, Harry and Meghan decided to trademark a range of items that they would like to sell under the name of Sussex Royal.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were planning to set up shop.
SET UP SHOP
“When the Queen, Charles and William got a glimpse of this selection of a hundred or more products, registered for all to see on 21 June with the UK Intellectual Property Office at 10 Victoria Street, just round the corner from Buckingham Palace, the extent of royal fury at Sussex impertinence rose to even higher levels.
“‘Hopping’ was a mild description of how mad the family was.
“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.”
Meanwhile, during the pair’s famous trip to Africa, the couple decided to launch three major law cases against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline after they published extracts from private letters she had sent her father Thomas.
Meghan was seeking damages for alleged copyright infringement, misuse of private information and breach of the Data Protection Act.
Mr Lacey added that the pair did not “ask for, or receive” the Queen’s blessing to launch the battle against the newspaper group.
He wrote: “When it came to any Sussex matter, the royal private secretary’s authority was now being disputed by the Sunshine Sachs channels through which both Harry and Meghan had insisted on running their outreach activities since early September.
‘HOPPING’ MAD
“If Sir Edward judged ‘no comment’ the best answer to some tricky question about Harry, Sunshine Sachs would propose to give out an answer – and Sunshine Sachs often won.
“The three major law cases against the British media establishment launched by Harry and Meghan while they were in Africa were the supreme examples of this – plain insubordination, not just to Young and his staff, who would have to process the implications as they affected the crown, but ultimately to the Queen.
“It was absolutely unknown for one, let alone three, such major conflicts with the outside world to be initiated by any member of the family without the Queen’s blessing – which Harry and Meghan had neither asked for nor received.”
It comes as a row over whether Harry and Meghan asked the Queen if they could use her private nickname Lilibet for their baby girl was reignited this week.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex admitted they bought Lilibet Diana and Lili Diana internet domains before Harry spoke to his gran.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, insisted they snapped them up to stop profiteers cashing in.
But Penny Junor, the prince’s biographer, said: “He clearly hasn’t consulted the Queen at that point. It is common courtesy to ask, and this is no ordinary grandmother — this is the Queen.”
