Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's (open in new tab) royal exit is becoming borderline petty, so let's make some popcorn.

On Friday, the couple confirmed through a spokesperson that they will not use the word "royal" in their branding after they officially abdicate this spring. According to Page Six (open in new tab), a Sussex representative said:

However, Harry and Meghan are not happy with this development (open in new tab); the two are from Queen Elizabeth (open in new tab) and Buckingham Palace (open in new tab), They were reportedly under fairly strong pressure to remove "Royal" from their official brand.

In a lengthy statement (opens in new tab) about the Spring 2020 transition on their official website, SussexRoyal.com (opens in new tab) (which, given this development, will need a new URL in March), Harry and Meghan made it clear how they made it perfectly clear how they feel about it.

In a technically polite but no doubt passive-aggressive statement, the Sussexes boldly pointed out (open in new tab) that the Queen does not actually have the authority to stop the use of the word royal:

"The use of the word "royal" abroad While the monarchy and the Cabinet Office have no jurisdiction with respect to, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use the word "Sussex Royal" or any iteration of the word "Royal" in any area (whether in the UK or not) when the transition takes place in the spring of 2020. "

This is of course true, but it did not need to be pointed out explicitly. The fact that Harry and Megan (open in new tab) decided to include this in their statement clearly shows how contentious this decision was. However, only time will tell if this will snowball into more than a modest skirmish.

For more celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, fascinating features, and more like this, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

Click here to register (opens in new tab)