If it’s controversial to give up your title now, imagine the stigma facing a royal in the 1920s. But King Carol II of Romania was no stranger to rebelling. Considered the family’s wild child, he married not one but two commoners, the second of which forced him to formally renounce his title.
Swedish-born "Prince" Lennart Bernadotte forfeited the right of succession for himself and his descendants and was forbidden to use his title after marrying commoner Karin Nissvandt. The marriage was condemned by his parents and, despite being given a 111-acre island to live on, Lennart and Karin struggled to find happiness in their life outside the royal family.
Royal duties were never destined to be King Edward VIII’s cup of English tea. The King gave up the British throne after a mere 11 months, abdicating to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. He infamously told the British public: "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love." However, he was allowed to keep the title of His Royal Highness Duke of Windsor following his abdication.
Born on the Greek island of Corfu on 10 June 1921, Philip's father was Prince Andrew of Greece, and so his decision to marry Princess Elizabeth saw him give up his Greek title, although the royal family had been driven out of Greece not long after his birth. That said, his mother Princess Alice's heritage perhaps made his chosen path seem fitting, as she was the daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and Rhine, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Philip, who spent much of his upbringing at school in Scotland, went on to be a much admired and integral part of the most famous royal family in the world. Always seen walking a respectful few paces behind the sovereign Queen, he only gave up his regular royal duties and appearances when he was aged 96.
Now to Asia, and a princess who gave up everything for love. Thai Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya was forced to make the ultimate decision between royalty and love when she chose to marry Peter Ladd Jensen, her fellow student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The eldest child of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit left her beloved family in Thailand and moved to the US to live with Jensen, giving birth to three children. However, her relationship remained strong with her parents.
You might think Zara and Peter would feel a little left out. On the contrary, Zara recently expressed relief that her parents decided not to use the title. While they love their grandmother and have enjoyed being part of royal events, Zara said it had allowed them to pursue other career options. However, Peter remains 14th in line for the throne, while Zara is then behind his two daughters at 17th.
However, it was soon revealed that Mabel had enjoyed a college romance with drug baron and infamous crime lord Klaas Bruinsma. The scandal left the Dutch Prime Minister no choice but to refuse Wisse Smit’s entry to the royal house, forcing Johan to cut his ties to the royal house and his place in the line of succession. The popular prince enjoyed his freedom and his marriage until he was tragically killed in a skiing incident aged 44. Pictured is his mother Queen Beatrix (left).
Princess Cristina, sister of King Felipe VI, married Iñaki Urdangarín in 1997. They were appointed Duke and Duchess of Palma de Mallorca and enjoyed royal life with their four children, until Urdangarin was convicted of embezzling €6 million ($6.6m/£5m) in public funds and using his title of Duke for political corruption.
In a move that shook Japanese society, Princess Mako announced that she was engaged to fellow university student Kei Komuro in 2017 – a move that would force Mako to give up her royal title. As the then-Emperor Akihito’s oldest grandchild, Mako’s decision reignited fierce debate in Japan about whether women should be allowed to retain Imperial status after marriage and rise to the throne.
With fears of the shrinking size of the royal family and the weight of her decision on Mako's shoulders, the couple initially postponed their wedding. There was speculation that this was due to a tabloid splash on Komuro’s mother, who owed an unpaid debt to her former fiancé which she used to cover her son’s tuition fees. The rumours led to national backlash, with media campaigns and even protests staged against the couple's marriage. But after four years of waiting, Mako and Komuro finally tied the knot on 26 October 2021.
Mako and Komuro got married in a quiet ceremony at a registry office. The couple (pictured during a press conference) refused to take live questions from journalists as Mako's doctor, who had recently diagnosed her with complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the scrutiny of royal life, decided it would be too much pressure. Instead, Mako and Komuro prepared answers to questions that had been submitted in advance.
As a member of the Imperial family, the former Princess was entitled to a taxpayer funded payment of around $1.3 million (£967k), but chose not to accept it. Although she's not the first (or last) woman from the Japanese Imperial family that's chosen love over status, she is the first to have denied the money. She and her husband now live in New York City, where Komuro works at a law firm.
Depleting the ranks of the Japanese imperial family even further, Princess Ayako married commoner Kei Moriya, a shipping company employee, in 2018. Following in the footsteps of her cousin Princess Mako, the union once again highlights Japan’s imminent crisis with male-only Imperial succession, with a spokesman from the Chief Cabinet Secretary stating “this is an important issue which can’t be postponed”.
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Luckily, Ayako's parents (her mother Princess Hisako is pictured here with Prince Charles) were said to be pleased about her choice and the pressure and worries about her family’s future have not taken away from the joy of the couple's union. Ayako described how when she first met Mr Moriya she “had so much fun that I forgot about time”, with him replying that he instantly fell in love with her "bright and positive" attitude.
Prince Harry – who was sixth in line to the British throne after his father Prince Charles, brother Prince William, and William's three children – announced his intention to step back as a senior royal at the start of 2020. Following his wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018, he and his wife were known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But keen to pursue their own projects and achieve financial independence, they decided to break away from the royal family, after supposedly being offered an ultimatum by the Queen...
Although Harry and Meghan reportedly hoped to continue representing the Queen, they were given a choice: they could either work as part of the family or completely independently. They chose the latter. Escaping the media storm that surrounded them in the UK, the Sussexes gave up their 'HRH' titles (though retained their duchies) and relocated to Los Angeles. Before leaving, they chose to repay £2.4 million ($3.27m) of taxpayer money that had been used to refurbish their UK home Frogmore Cottage. In October 2020, they launched the Archewell Foundation, a non-profit that aims to "unite and uplift communities" and is headquartered in the US.
Virginia Giuffre has claimed she was trafficked to Prince Andrew multiple times in 2001 by convicted offender Jeffrey Epstein when she was just 17. Her association with Prince Andrew has been widely reported for years, due to old photographs that show the two of them together. And in 2021, she officially filed a New York lawsuit against him, accusing him of sexual assault and the intention to cause emotional distress. Andrew, who has consistently denied the charges, will defend himself as a private citizen now that his royal title has been removed.
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