Editorial: Harry and Meghan have walked out of the royals, relentlessly attacked the family yet cashed in on royalty and now they want royal titles

Harry and Meghan are now referring to their children as prince and princess. Archie and Lilibet are said to have got such prestigious titles when Charles became king but only now has the Buckingham Palace website ben updated. It is further reported that the Duke and Sussex do not want their children to be denied their birthright, but to be able to choose in future whether to use the titles.

The are very serious problems with this. King Charles, sensitive to modern views about great wealth and class inequality that has a massive impact on people's life chances, has made clear that he wants a slimmed down monarchy. This shows a welcome sensitivity to public thinking, and is the sort of wise step that will secure the monarchy for decades or even centuries to come.

Traditionally the British public have had such veneration for kings and queens that they tend not to question titles or positions within the immediate royal family. But the Sussexes have, at best, behaved in a way that shows them to be vulnerable and damaged psychologically or, at worst, behaved in a disgracefully indulgent way.

They have relentlessly exposed and embarrassed and scorned the royals, seemingly untroubled by the fact that the royal family can never hit back.

They have stormed out of royal duties and indeed the country yet cashed in on their royal connections to the tunes of scores of millions of dollars.

Almost everyone in the UK will be wishing the king well for his coronation, and be concerned at him grappling with a bitter and public family rift at when aged in his 70s. But now people will be wondering whether in fact it is, in spirit, within the gift of a head of state to reward such abominable behaviour by Harry and Meghan even if, in law, it is within his powers.