‘It is time to take the title back from someone so clearly lacking any respect’
A minister has branded Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “utterly irrelevant” to Britain and urged the country to boycott Netflix where the couple’s documentary hasn’t stopped making headlines.
Appearing on BBC Question Time on Thursday, employment minister Guy Opperman said the “very troubled couple” are a “sad state of affairs” and said he will refuse to watch the Harry & Meghan series that reportedly earned the pair $100 million.
Opperman said: “They are utterly irrelevant to this country and the progress of this country and the royal family that we all, I believe, support.”
"The Royal Family is bigger than all of us"
Conservatives' Guy Opperman gives his opinion on the Harry & Meghan programme, arguing that they are "utterly irrelevant to this country" #bbcqt
https://t.co/4LI0DqaK53 pic.twitter.com/RW5mk5ky0y— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) December 8, 2022
His comments came as Tory MP for Sussex, Tim Loughton, called for the “deeply embarrassing” couple to lose their titles due to their lack of respect for the Royal family and UK.
He wrote on Twitter: “As a Member of Parliament for a Sussex constituency and having been born in Sussex and lived most of my life here I am ashamed that this deeply embarrassing couple bear the title of our great country. It is time to take the title back from someone so clearly lacking any respect.”
As a Member of Parliament for a Sussex constituency and having been born in Sussex and lived most of my life here I am ashamed that this deeply embarrassing couple bear the title of our great county. It is time to take the title back from someone so clearly lacking any respect https://t.co/mVaGULjRIe
— Tim Loughton MP 🇺🇦 (@timloughton) December 8, 2022
Speaking on Question Time, Opperman continued: “I don’t think it has a fundamental impact on the Royal Family. I certainly won’t be watching it. I would urge everyone to boycott Netflix and make sure that we actually focus on the things that matter.”
As expected, people didn’t like to be told not what to do with their Netflix accounts.
Guess what….no one is boycotting Netflix on this issue 🤣😂 I have no interest in the H and M either the shop or the celebrity couple but i also think the Royal Family is a broken and slowly dying institution.
— Meredith Ashford (@merryment24) December 9, 2022
Meghan and Harry have been accused of trying to “bring down the monarchy” with their Netflix docu-series, which had been accused of being an attack on the Royal Family, the late Queen’s legacy and the UK.
The former Suits star was also accused of showing disrespect to the Queen when she thought Harry was “joking” when he asked her to curtsey for his grandmother before doing an exaggerated bow on screen that also left her husband looking less than impressed.
This is the moment that Meghan describes meeting the late Queen Elizabeth for the first time and how she did not understand why she needed to curtsy to Harry‘s grandmother…
He looks a little uncomfortable about the whole thing#HarryandMeghan pic.twitter.com/H9qr7DqwHq— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) December 8, 2022
Meghan taking the piss out of meeting the Queen. Harry sits there smugly. pic.twitter.com/3LFTE77OZX
— Lord Brouhaha (@lord_brouhaha) December 8, 2022
Conservative MP for Workington, Mark Jenkinson, tweeted after seeing the clip: “The ultimate betrayal. And he just sits and watches.”
Earlier this week, Tory MP Bob Seely told MailOnline he is tabling a Private Members’ Bill that would give the Privy Council power to downgrade their status by adapting the 1917 Titles Deprivation Act, which was used against aristocrats who sided with the Germans during the First and Second World War.
The Isle of Wight MP said the couple were “monetising” their titles with “aggressive” and “unbelievable” attacks on the Royal Family and Britain. Backbench Bills rarely become law.
Seely told Sky News on Friday that he would bring forward the private members’ bill to the new year.
Under the so-called ‘Megxit’ deal agreed in 2020, Harry and Meghan are still known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and kept their ‘HRH’ prefix – His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness – but said they would no longer ‘actively use’ the titles.
Related links:
- Harry says wearing Nazi uniform was ‘biggest mistake of my life’
- The trailer for ‘Harry & Meghan’ has finally dropped
- Prince William condemns ‘unacceptable comments’ from godmother towards charity boss
- Robert F. Kennedy foundation to award Harry and Meghan for ‘heroic’ stance against ‘structural racism’ of royal family
- Prince Harry’s new book title takes massive dig at Royal Family