Republican Leader Wants Meghan Markle Stripped of Royal Title

One of the main reasons Meghan Markle and Prince Harry moved to the United States was to make their case across the pond and focus their energies on the issues most important to them. Paid parental leave was a major issue for the Sussexes, as there is no national paid leave policy in the United States.

This week, Dame Meghan released an impassioned open letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

"I am writing to you on behalf of the millions of American families who have voiced that comprehensive paid leave should not be a place of compromise or negotiation. 'In fact, most countries already have paid leave programs in place. [Writing a letter in support of paid leave to two politicians in charge of Congress is not necessarily a controversial stance. However, some Republicans have spoken out in defense of Meghan, saying that she should stay in her lane on political issues.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, Republican Congressman Jason Smith, R-Missouri, suggested stripping Princess Meghan and Prince Harry of their royal titles. He said, "Ms. Markle's recent meddling in U.S. politics rekindles questions about why the royal family has not formally stripped her and Prince Harry of their royal titles. Several other party members joined in, arguing that the royal family should not meddle in politics in the future. In the current climate, however, it is difficult to understand even what it means for an issue to be considered political (more on this later).

This is not the first time that Congressman Smith has called for the Sussexes to be stripped of their titles. Last year, he argued that they should be removed from royal duties for interfering in the U.S. election. The "interference in question" was Prince Harry telling his social media followers to "reject hate speech" in the upcoming election. (Earlier this year, Smith was one of 147 elected officials who voted to overturn a legally conducted election to force Donald Trump to vacate the presidency.)

In a larger sense, it is not clear why Meghan's letter is political. Advocates say that her purpose is to defend human rights, and that there is nothing inherently Democratic or Republican about paid family leave (or human rights more generally). The issue has traditionally been a bipartisan one, and was a major talking point advocated by Ivanka Trump when she served as White House counsel in her father's administration. It is interesting to note, however, that some Republicans in Congress have knee-jerk reactions to otherwise ordinary human rights issues, which they see as at odds with their own views.

Similarly, seeing the rejection of hate speech as politically at odds with Republican ideology is ...... 'Oxymoronic' Prince Harry's message, like Princess Meghan's letter, was not a name-calling endorsement of any politician or political party. In fact, not long ago, rejecting hate speech was something most Americans agreed on.

In other words, according to the logic presented by Senator Smith, the Republican Party has made hate speech central to its platform, and to reject hate speech is to reject Republicanism itself. My point is that it is a pretty big self-ownership and politicians should not be allowed to talk about the royal family in the future.

The full text of Princess Meghan's letter is here.