The Dukes of Sussex begin to suffer the first cuts

-Do you know the most curious thing about Europe? Small differences.

John Travolta explained to Samuel L. Jackson, in Pulp Fiction , how a word is capable of transforming a simple hamburger into a delicacy.

-Do you know what they call the quarter pound with cheese in Paris? They call it royal with cheese.

Buckingham Palace recently gave Prince Enrique and his wife, Meghan Markle, the nth blow by banning them from using the term royal in their registered trademark of presentation to the world: Sussex Royal. And all the rage contained in the statement in which the couple complied with the decision suggests that, as much as it presents itself as a setback, it has been a low blow. “Although neither the monarchy nor the Government have any jurisdiction over the use of the term royal in the international arena, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no intention of using the Sussex Royal brand or the repetition of the term royal in any territory (both within from the United Kingdom as in the rest of the world) when the transition occurs in the spring of 2020 ”, replied the Dukes of Sussex. A text of more than a thousand words in which the terms of that transition began to be outlined, and that looked as if it were an attempt to control the reins of a process that has not been as smooth as they would have liked.

Queen Elizabeth, with the Dukes of Sussex in June 2018. JOHN STILLWELL AFP

The Registered Trademark Act of 1994 of the United Kingdom protects in its article 4 "... words, letters or symbols that may lead people to think that their user has recently or in the past received patronage or real authorization." Like any legal provision, the interpretation can be rigid or flexible, and the casuistry broad. Lord Chamberlain's office (the highest ranking official in charge of Windsor House affairs) has written his own interpretation guides and examples. The list is before Enrique and Meghan caused such a stir in the royal family, but it seems intended to add salt to the wound. Examples of fraudulent use of the word royal would be "crockery, fancy food, organic food, pastry, alcoholic beverages, clothing, sporting events, exhibitions, floral fairs, and tourist, medical and philanthropy events," says the text. And he adds: "the list is not exhaustive."

On the contrary, activities for which the term does not contain any problem would be "financial or insurance services, double glazing of windows, electrical repairs, or products such as skateboards, computers, video games or t-shirts."

Never could a legal text contain so much burden of unintended cruelty.

Prince Henry and Meghan, interpret the British media, begin to understand what it means to deal "professionally" with Buckingham Palace. “The Sussex immediately understood the importance of protecting a brand. That is why they were in such a hurry to register Sussex Royal for any future commercial use (including pajamas, as we have been told), ”wrote Robert Hardman, a specialist in royalty issues, in The Daily Mail . "They can hardly object to the queen and her employees, who represent an institution that has been protecting the brand for centuries, have already put on the table some established laws for the protection of their intellectual property."

Enrique and Meghan will retain, as they are responsible for emphasizing in the statement, the title of His Royal Highness (HRH). But they admit that they will not use it on a day-to-day basis "because they will no longer be active members of the royal family from the spring of 2020". The prince will only remain older, lieutenant commander and squad leader for the 12 months during the probationary period, after which Buckingham Palace and the Sussex must review their terms and adapt them to events. And the couple will maintain the security device available so far, for “the public profile that is supposed to have been born in the bosom of the royal family, the military career [of the prince], the duchess's own independent profile, and the level of risk and threat that both share and that has been widely documented in recent years. ”

No one doubts that the ability of the couple to ensure their economic independence is more than assured, and experts who have started to calculate the income they can obtain in the immediate future speak of tens of millions of euros. It has not yet been calculated, however, the lost profits that imply a progressive deterioration of the reputation to which the British sensationalist press has been dedicated with determination since the first minute. “That statement has been Meghan's spiteful rage. Meghan always gets what Meghan wants, ”Tom Bower said in the Good Morning Britain program , whose host, journalist Piers Morgan, has become the daily scourge of the American actress. Next to him sat the journalist Afua Adom, representing a liberal press that still continues to cause the defense of a couple who has decided to release ties with the rigidities of the royal family and a woman who has replaced Camilla Parker- Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, as the target of all attacks.

And for now, the first winners, who have gloated in the mockery. Burgers, skateboards or t-shirts, yes. For the rest, they must settle for being Enrique and Meghan. To dry.