Meghan Markle Used HRH Title in Personal Gift — Here’s Royal Rule Behind It

Meghan Markle’s royal styling is drawing renewed attention after a personalized note bearing her “HRH” title surfaced more than a year after she gifted it to a friend.

Although Prince Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, stepped back from their working royal roles in 2020; they technically retain their “His/Her Royal Highness” titles — though they no longer use them in public or for commercial purposes.

The arrangement was part of their agreement with Queen Elizabeth, when they stepped back as senior working royals in 2020. At the time, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain members of the Royal Family and remain named and titled as such. As explained in the January [2020] announcement, from Spring they will formally retain their titles of ‘His/Her Royal Highness’ but no longer actively use their ‘HRH’s.”

The conversation was reignited on April 28, when the Duchess of Sussex made her first appearance as a podcast guest on The Jamie Kern Lima Show.

During their wide-ranging chat, host Jamie Kern Lima, 47, recalled a time Meghan dropped off a gift basket at her house. She shared a photo of the note that came with it: a printed card reading, “With compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex,” set beneath Meghan’s royal cipher. The note accompanied two pints of organic ice cream and a ribbon-tied jar of jam — possibly an early prototype from Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As ever.

PEOPLE understands that although Meghan and Harry do not use their HRH titles for public or commercial ventures, their formal titles remain. And in this case, the note — from more than a year ago — was part of a private, personal gift — not a business move.

Elsewhere in the episode, Kern Lima, co-founder of IT Cosmetics, opened up about the thoughtful reason behind Meghan’s surprise gift — a moment that came during a particularly stressful time.

“When I was super stressed out one time, I had in-laws and all these people visiting,” Kern Lima said, and Meghan interjected, “You had a very full house.”

“Very full house,” the Jamie Kern Lima Show host agreed. “And all of a sudden I get word that you dropped off this gift basket with ice creams, homemade strawberry sauce to put on top of the ice cream, just to see if that helps lighten my load. It was like, as if you’re in my shoes feeling what I was feeling without me even needing to tell you anything. And you’re doing something that adds value to my life.”

She added: “I have had your jam in my refrigerator all year. No one knows. No one’s seen it.”

The ice cream and strawberry spread wasn’t the only gift Meghan has given to the family. Kern Lima further revealed that the Duchess of Sussex surprised her 6-year-old daughter Wonder with a personalized present.

“My daughter loves cooking… she wants to be a chef when she grows up and you drop off this board that says ‘Chef Wonder’ on it,” Kern Lima said, as a video rolled to show the gift with another note from Meghan.

“Dear Wonder, For your culinary masterpieces!” read the letter, dated February 2025. 

“Love, Miss Meghan,” it was signed, on a card stamped with the Duchess of Sussex’s royal cipher.

As the son of the future King Charles, Prince Harry inherited his royal title and HRH styling at birth. His wife Meghan was bestowed with similar privileges on their May 19, 2018 royal wedding day, becoming the Duchess of Sussex with the HRH appellation.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are raising their children — Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3 — in California. In a recent exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Meghan shared how meaningful it is for her family to be united by their Sussex name.

“It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children,” Meghan told PEOPLE. “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”

The Sussex name, she said, “is part of our love story.”