Prince Harry Is Poised to Become an ‘Underdog Story’ if He Pursues U.S. Citizenship
Prince Harry, an American citizen? It’s certainly a possibility, a leading family lawyer has said. The discussion comes after the Duke of Sussex revealed in a February 2024 interview he’s “considered” the idea. Chances are that a lengthy legal battle ensues, taking the Duke of Sussex’s case to the Supreme Court. Furthermore, Harry could become an “underdog” in the process.
Becoming a U.S. citizen is a ‘thought’ that’s ‘crossed’ Harry’s mind
Harry told Good Morning America while in Canada at the 2025 Invictus Games One Year to Go festivities from Feb. 14-16, 2024, that he’s thought about legally becoming an American.
Sure, he’s established a go-to order at In-N-Out Burger and celebrated Independence Day, but Harry isn’t technically a U.S. citizen.
When asked if he’d “think about becoming a [U.S.] citizen,” Harry told ABC News’ Will Reeve he has “considered it.”
As for what would stop Harry from doing it, the father of two said he has “no idea.”
“The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind,” Harry said. “But it is certainly not something that is a high priority for me right now.”
The road to American citizenship could be complicated for Harry
Pursuing U.S. citizenship would be a massive undertaking for Harry because, as Alphonse Provinziano of the U.S. law firm Provinziano & Associates told Newsweek, he’s in rarified company legally.
Currently, the law states Harry would have to give up his royal titles. Additionally, he’d be required to renounce his allegiance to any “foreign prince,” which, given his father, King Charles III, is undergoing cancer treatment, may not go over well.
However, the law may work in Harry’s favor so he can retain his royal titles and become a U.S. citizen. Provinziano explained that the law about renouncing titles “treats similarly situated people differently” and “actually creates an unequal system.”
“There is no Supreme Court case that interprets that code section merely because there’s only been about a dozen American citizens who have had a prince or princess title,” he said.
“It’s something that theoretically could go all the way to the Supreme Court because the court would have to review the law to make sure it’s constitutional.”
“The U.S. Supreme Court then, if it says Harry could keep his title or not keep his title, could have an effect on the line of succession of the British Monarchy, which is something that I don’t think anyone ever contemplated.”
“I think Harry has been well received in the U.S., and people liked him and his family,” Provinziano added. That, he said, may “create the feeling for a lot of people that, ‘Why does Harry have to give up his title when we have people like Princess Grace [Kelly] who was an American citizen and was a princess,’ for example.”
“Why should Harry be singled out?” the lawyer continued. “It seems unfair, and that’s the kind of underdog story that Americans love.”
Other paths to citizenship for Harry
Potentially going to the Supreme Court isn’t the only option for Harry. There are other ways to become a U.S. citizen, Provinziano said.
Firstly, Harry could become an honorary U.S. citizen and keep his titles not unlike Sir Winston Churchill.
“The other way would be a special law that Congress could pass, and there’s precedence for this as well,” he said. “Congress can just pass a law that makes Prince Harry a U.S. citizen, and he’s not required to take that oath of allegiance.”
For now, Harry remains the only non-American citizen in his immediate family. His wife, Meghan Markle is a U.S. citizen. As are their children, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2.
