Sources close to Meghan Markle have denied she violated an agreement with the Royal Family by using her HRH title on a gift card.
The apparent denial comes after a video showed Meghan Markle had sent a gift basket with a card reading: "With the Compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex."
Insiders claim this was private use, not public.
The gift basket in question was sent to US cosmetics entrepreneur Jamie Kern Lima.
It was revealed in a video accompanying a podcast hosted by Kern Lima.
Meghan Markle has rejected accusations of violating Royal Family agreement over her title.
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The American businesswoman said that when she had been "super-stressed", Meghan had cheered her up by dropping round some ice cream and "home made strawberry sauce".
Sources close to the California-based couple reject that this card was a breach of the agreement struck on their departure from royal duties.
According to these sources, the couple do not use HRH in commercial or public settings.
They insist this was only a private use of the title and was for a gift given more than a year ago.
This distinction would mean the HRH title was not being used to promote Meghan's As Ever range or her Netflix cookery series.
Sources close to Meghan Markle have denied she violated an agreement with the Royal Family by using her HRH title on a gift card.
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When Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020, they agreed to stop using their HRH titles.
"The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family," Buckingham Palace stated at the time.
However, this agreement did not remove the titles, it merely restricted how they could be used.
They also stopped receiving public funding as they began "the next chapter of their lives".
Mrs Kern Lima said Meghan's thoughtful gift showed great empathy and gave something that "adds value to my life".
The podcast also featured Meghan discussing her relationship with Prince Harry.
The card suggests that while the Sussexes don't use HRH titles publicly, they may still use them in private correspondence.
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This parallels the Sussexes' situation, where the titles remain but their public use is restricted.
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In the podcast, Meghan reflected on her relationship with Prince Harry, saying: "You have to imagine at the beginning, everyone has, like, butterflies."
"Then we immediately went into the trenches together. Yeah, right out of the gate, like six months into dating."
She added: "So now, seven years later, when you have a little bit of breathing space, you can just enjoy each other in a new way, and that's why I feel like it's more of a honeymoon period for us now."
Another non-working royal, Prince Andrew, also does not use HRH in any official capacity, but still retains the title.
This parallels the Sussexes' situation, where the titles remain but their public use is restricted.
The distinction between private and public use of royal titles appears to be at the heart of this latest discussion about royal protocol.
