King Charles was urged to strip Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of their titles and "end the theatre" after the couple's latest pseudo-royal tour in Jordan. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent two days in the country of the Middle East, meeting Jordanian leaders and senior health officials, engaging with WHO teams, visiting frontline health and mental health programmes and meeting World Central Kitchen staff coordinating food relief for Gaza from Amman.

Their visit aimed to highlight the humanitarian efforts of the Jordanian authorities and a range of agencies supporting the health and wellbeing of Syrians and Palestinians who have sought sanctuary in Jordan over the decades. But their visit was savaged by a royal commentator who described it as "chaos masquerading as moral authority".

Lee Cohen, a US-based columnist/royal and foreign policy commentator blasted: "At a time when the monarchy faces serious reputational pressure, the last thing the Royal Family needs are two royal turncoats jetting to the volatile Middle East, exploiting titles they have abandoned in spirit but cling to in practice, and staging a parallel court for relevance and personal glorification."

He said that the Sussexes "abandoned duty and service" but they did not abandon the "trappings of rank" which give "weight to their vanity projects".

The expert said that while the visit was undertaken at the invitation of the World Health Organisation, it was just "theatre" and "carefully curated imagery".

Mr Cohen wrote for GB News: "The duo [Harry and Meghan] generate attention without authority, spectacle without responsibility, disruption without mandate.

"They insist they are private citizens. Very well. Then relinquish the public instruments of rank. A duke conducting freelance diplomacy is constitutional nonsense, a recipe for confusion abroad and embarrassment at home. Titles are not props. They are instruments of the state."

He added: "As long as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle retain their titles, every overseas appearance carries an implied endorsement. That is not opinion - it is a consequence. And Britain must not continue embowering a frivolous brand masquerading as a monarchy.

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"The remedy is obvious. Strip the titles. Remove the privileges. End the theatre.

"If they wish to operate as entertainers of influencers, they may do so - but only as private citizens. No coronet. No rank. No implied authority."

He also warned that the monarchy "cannot survive" with "perpetual self-promotion under inherited rank," concluding that: "The time for indulgence of this rogue pair has long passed."