Harry and Meghan are accused of ‘hijacking the name Sussex for their website’ – as Lady Colin Campbell reveals she’s bought domain names for other Sussex-related sites

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been accused by Lady Colin Campbell of ‘hijacking’ the Sussex name for their website.

Lady Campbell, who lives in a castle in Goring, West Sussex, has revealed she has bought the domain names for other Sussex-related sites as she accused the couple of launching a new website that has ‘nothing to do with the county ‘.

The former I’m A Celebrity star has acquired the domain names dukeandduchessofsussex.co.uk and officialsussex.com, which she said she would give to the couple if they stop using Sussex.com.

It comes after the Duke and Duchess this week launched Sussex.com in what has been branded ‘a betrayal’ of their agreement with the late Queen Elizabeth II.

After the so-called ‘Sandringham summit’ in 2020, the couple agreed to step back from their royal duties and stop using their HRH titles for business purposes or trading away their royal connections.

They were also forced to shelve their existing website, Sussexroyal.com, which had been launched weeks earlier without any warning and essentially contained their ‘manifesto’ for a new life half in, half out of the royal family.

Lady Campbell, 74, waded into the row on Sussex.com and said: ‘(It) is not only an imposition on the people of Sussex but it is also an impertinence, in that their website has nothing to do with the province, but the domain name gives the misleading impression that this is the case.’

The former I’m A Celebrity star has purchased a number of other Sussex-related website domain names

Meghan’s coat of arms, issued in 2018, can be seen above the couple’s names on Sussex.com

The royal coat of arms of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is prominently displayed on the new website Sussex.com and can therefore cause tensions

The royal biographer said she was ‘stunned’ that the couple had ‘hijacked the name of the province for their website’.

She said: “The geographic allocation of their title may share a name with the province, but they are not representatives of the province, nor do many of its residents share its values.

“Many in fact regret what they represent, and it would certainly have been more appropriate if they had had a domain name along the lines of dukeandduchessofsussex.com.”

She says she will give them the domain name she registered if the couple stops using Sussex.com.

The websites feature photos of Castle Goring – her sprawling 18th-century estate in West Sussex – which is rented out as a film location and as a venue for weddings and private parties.

Lady Campbell – born Georgie Ziadie – owes her title to a short-lived marriage to the Duke of Argyll’s youngest son, Lord Colin Campbell, in 1974.

This week, a row has erupted over the Duke and Duchess’s decision to replace their Archewell website – the umbrella name for all their philanthropic and business endeavors – with ‘Sussex.com’.

The new homepage for ‘The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess’ went live on Monday evening.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in September 2023. The photo now appears on the home page of sussex.com

Meghan and Harry will attend the Invictus Games One Year To Go event on February 14

Harry tried out one of the competitors’ sit-skis and appears to be having a great time as he is pushed down the slope by his instructor

A film crew was seen joining the Sussexes as they arrived for a day of sit-skiing

Their ‘About’ page reads: ‘The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex is shaping the future through business and philanthropy’

The website Sussex.com contains flowery descriptions of the Duke and Duchess

It includes Meghan’s coat of arms and brilliant biographies for the couple, as well as the latest news about the couple.

Many close to the royal family believe this is a blatant breach of the supposedly ironclad guarantees Harry and Meghan gave the late queen when they acrimoniously quit as working royals in 2020, and puts them dangerously close to come close to using their royal status for commercial gain.

After stepping back from their royal duties and having their HRH titles removed, the Sussexes have acted under their new guise of Archewell.

Harry and Meghan bought the domain name of their Sussex.com website from a British-born businessman who was reportedly very happy with the compensation he received.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched their controversial website as part of a royal rebrand after purchasing the domain name for an undisclosed fee from technology entrepreneur Neil Agate.

Mr Agate, who is from Sussex but lives in the US, created the name in 1995 and kept it for almost 30 years.

Harry and Meghan are said to have used a real estate agent who did not reveal the Sussexes’ identities when they bought the domain name without arguing over the price.

Yesterday it was reported that Prince Harry – who stepped down as a senior royal in 2020 – would be willing to return to a temporary royal role to support his father during his battle with cancer.

The duke, who took a transatlantic jaunt on February 6 to visit King Charles for about 30 minutes, reportedly told friends he would return to Britain to help with royal duties while his father underwent treatment.

But Buckingham Palace appears to have ruled this out, with palace sources claiming there is ‘no way back’ for the duke.

Archewell has been contacted for comment.