Harry and Meghan’s New Sussex.com Website Creates Controversy

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have found themselves in the hot seat again after publishing their sussex.com website. According to Lady Colin Campbell from Goring, West Sussex, the website’s domain name and content illustrate “impertinence” since the website has nothing to do with the county and fails to accurately represent the area’s values and beliefs.

As a royal biographer and one of the most vocal residents of Sussex, Lady Campbell explained, “[It] is not only an imposition to the people of Sussex but is also an impertinence, in that their website has nothing to do with the county, but the domain name gives the misleading impression that it does.”

She continued, “The geographic assignation of their title might share a name with the county, but they are not representatives of the county, nor do many of its residents share their values. In fact, many deplore what they represent, and it would surely have been more appropriate for them to have had a domain name along the lines of dukeandduchessofsussex.com.”

Pay a quick visit to the controversial website and it isn’t hard to see where the actress, socialite, and biographer is coming from. The home page shows a flattering picture of the happy couple with a dark overlay. Meanwhile, the internal links branch out to individual bios of each. There are also links to their nonprofit organization (Archewell Foundation) and production company (Archewell Productions). While there isn’t a lot of content, its self-promoting nature is hard to ignore. 

Lady Campbell further asserted that it was baffling why the two would hijack the county’s name and use it for their personal website. She claimed that she owns many Sussex-related domains like dukeandduchessofsussex.co.uk and officialsussex.com—any of which she would have readily handed over to the royals if they could be persuaded to give up sussex.com. Instead, Harry and Meghan reportedly bought the domain name, sussex.com, from tech entrepreneur Neil Agate for an undisclosed amount. 

Perhaps it added insult to injury that several photos of her home, the 18th-century Castle Goring, were included on the website. Known for its beauty and architectural value, the location is usually rented as a filming location as well as a venue for private functions like weddings and other intimate gatherings.

Several people also pointed out that the website was in violation of their agreement with the late Queen Elizabeth II. Recall that in 2020, now dubbed the Sandringham summit, Harry and Meghan agreed to step back from their royal duties and to stop using their HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles for business purposes.

Contrary to the terms of that agreement, the website shows them using those titles. In one webpage, the copy refers to the couple as “Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”

The agreement also stipulated that they would pause their then newly-released Sussexroyal.com website which had just gone live a few weeks before the summit. It also established their new manifesto regarding their half-in, half-out royal lives.