All modern British royals who have lost their royal status and what they were allowed to keep
There have been a lot of British royals to have lost their status over the years.
For example, Edward VIII abdicated as king less than a year after assuming the title in 1936, as he wished to marry Wallis Simpson.
Simpson had previously been divorced, and at the time remarrying after divorce was not allowed by the Church of England, and Edward stepped down as king to marry her, with his younger brother becoming George VI.
Here though we won't go back as far as the 1930s, and will take a look at some of the more recent examples of royals who have lost status, as well as the things they were permitted to retain.
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Some of them stepped down from their position voluntarily, while others had their statuses forcibly revoked.
Let's take a look at five royals whose status has been downgraded over the last few years, going chronologically.
Princess Diana
In 1975, Diana would inherit the title Lady Diana Spencer after her father became an earl, and when she married the future king Charles, then the Prince of Wales, on 29 July 1981 she could adopt the style 'Her Royal Highness', which is granted to princes and princesses in the UK
Diana lost her 'HRH' styling following her divorce from Charles, but was allowed to keep the title 'Princess of Wales'.
Her entry on the Royal Family's website says: "After her divorce from The Prince of Wales, the Princess continued to be regarded as a member of the Royal Family."
Diana was also informally known by many as 'Lady Di', as well as being referred to as 'The People's Princess'.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Andrew is the brother of King Charles, and was stripped of his royal titles, including that of 'prince' due to increased scrutiny of his connections to convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Allegations against Andrew were made in a memoir published by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed in the book that she had sex with Andrew on three occasions while a teenager, claims which Andrew continues to deny.
In 2026 Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, later being released under investigation.
Prior to losing the title of prince, including the styling 'His Royal Highness', Andrew also relinquished the title of Duke of York.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement in October 2025 that King Charles 'has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew'.
The statement added: "These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him."
Andrew also had to leave his residence of Royal Lodge, instead moving into private accommodation on Sandringham Estate.
Sarah Ferguson
In March 2026 Sarah Ferguson, the ex wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, had her freedom of the city of York rescinded due to her own alleged connection to Epstein.
She had previously also lost her title of the Duchess of York in October 2025, when her ex-husband Andrew was himself stripped of the title.
The decision to rescind her freedom of the City of York, the highest honour that the city can bestow, was made following a debate by the council.
Liberal Democrat councillor Darryl Smalley was among those who spoke during the debate, saying: “We now know, following the release of thousands of documents, that Sarah Ferguson too had a close friendship with Epstein, which continued well beyond his conviction.
“We don’t expect recipients of York’s highest honour to be saints. We simply do not want them to be best friends of convicted paedophiles."
Harry and Meghan
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have recently confirmed their intent to return to the UK after leaving six years ago to move to the US.
Though they initially stepped down as 'working royals' in 2020, their return has sparked speculation over whether they would step back into this role once back in the UK.
However, a statement from Buckingham Palace has since confirmed that their status will not change.
They retain the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but the Palace confirmed in a statement that 'their styles as His and Her Royal Highness remain in abeyance and are not used'.
The statement added: “This position, distinct from the State and Royal duties undertaken by the working Royal Family, and with the personal latitude it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue to be fully respected."
It went on to explain that the Sussexes are considered to be 'akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests', though Harry is still referred to as 'Prince Harry.'
Topics: UK News, Royal Family, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew
Kit Roberts