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No HRH's for Americans: Prince Harry May Have to Ditch His Royal Titles If He Wants to Become a U.S. Citizen

Prince Harry cannot retain his royal titles if he goes forward with becoming an American citizen.

Prince Harry hinted at potentially becoming a United States citizen during his Good Morning America interview on Friday, February 16.

"The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind, but is certainly not something that is a high priority for me right now," His Royal Highness shared.

If the Duke of Sussex wished to go forward with becoming a tried and true U.S. citizen, he would need to renounce being a subject of King Charles III in addition to all of his royal titles and styles. Under the "Renunciation of Title or Order of Nobility" policy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the fifth in line to the British throne will have to permanently say goodbye to being "His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton, Baron of Kilkeel."

The U.S. Oath of Allegiance states that "Any applicant who has any titles of heredity or positions of nobility in any foreign state must renounce the title or the position. The applicant must expressly renounce the title in a public ceremony, and USCIS must record the renunciation as part of the proceedings."

Furthermore, any failure on Harry's part to comply with this demand would be considered a "lack of attachment" to the nation's Constitution.

In various interviews since "Megxit" brought him first to Canada and then to California in 2020, the royal rebel has largely avoided the question of fully becoming an American citizen and dropping being a British subject. "I don't know how I feel," the Duke stated in one interview when asked if he "felt American."

"How many people are in that position?" celebrity lawyer, James L. Leonard Jr., told an outlet. "Perhaps a political figure that maybe is an elected official, but this [Harry’s title] is a hereditary, lifetime [role] and a very unique legal issue. It actually may be a matter of first impression, meaning our court system may have never dealt with this particular issue."

"I’m 50 years old, and I can’t think of another royal that has ever applied to become a United States citizen," the high-profile celeb attorney added. "I can’t imagine that there’s been another scenario like this, and I think it’s going to raise a lot of interesting issues, and I don’t think it’s black and white."

The lawyer concluded by stating: "I don’t think that would benefit him. Immigration law is very unforgiving. It doesn’t typically give a lot of discretion to judges. I don’t know how creative [his lawyers] could get here or if they could get creative at all."

Furthermore, recent reports suggest that both Harry and Meghan Markle "have no intention" of putting away their royal status.

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Page Six spoke with Leonard Jr.