Calls for Prince Harry and Meghan to voluntarily up their royal titles are gathering pace, with over 50,000 people signing a petition in support.

The Duke of Sussex is under pressure to stop “doing damage to the institution of the monarchy” by standing down permanently.

Lady Colin Campbell, author of Meghan and Harry: The Real Story, began the petition.

Lady C said that giving up his titles would release the Duke of Sussex from “constitutional conflicts” and allow him to “indulge his personal beliefs” as a totally private individual living in the United States with no formal ties to the Royal Family.

“As a purely private citizen, with no royal rank, style or title, he (Harry) will be able to indulge his personal beliefs, as is the right of all private citizens, without the consequential possibility of damaging the institution of the Monarchy or relations between Friendly Powers, and will be free to articulate beliefs, no matter how objectionable, without the fallout that is otherwise inevitable as long as he possesses royal status,” says the petition description.

She told the Daily Star that Harry should ask the Queen to place his titles in abeyance, which means they would be temporarily out of use or suspended.

“I started it because I think it’s the right thing to do,” she explained.

“I have spoken to people, many people, who think it’s the right thing to do and it is the solution.

“It is a dignified solution for all concerned. To humiliate no-one and protect everyone. I think it’s a humane way of solving a very regrettable situation.”

Following their intention to stand down as senior working royals in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have encountered growing criticism from several industries throughout the UK and the Commonwealth.

This petition does not ask the Queen to intervene, but rather requests that the Duke of Sussex request that his titles be revoked.

She said: “His invitation to The Sovereign, being of his own accord, will resolve conflicts that would otherwise be inevitable, and will permit him to enjoy the credit of having put both national and international interests above his own, personal ones, in the process gaining him respect that he otherwise will not enjoy.”

Ms Campbell further claims that the Duke of Sussex “doesn’t need” the royal titles since “he is too big for them now” and “still gets publicity and attention.”

“They (Harry and Meghan) will still be able to sell their brand, capitalise upon their identity, but at least it will be in a way there can be no confusion about the fact that he is doing it as an individual and not as a member of the royal family that has duties to the nation and to the people of this nation,” the Jamaican-born British writer said.

Prince Harry and Meghan formally relinquished their positions as senior royals at the end of March 2020.

After leaving the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan were permitted to keep their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex according to an agreement with the Queen.

The petition may be signed on Change.org.

Senior royals are claimed to have been perplexed by the prince’s “disgraceful” and “woeful lack of compassion” when he appeared on an edition of actor Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast last week.