Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s dreams of using their Sussex Royal name to launch a new business empire have reportedly been dashed by the Queen.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex hoped to keep the name – which they use on their Instagram account and website – when they stepped back in January as senior royals.

They have registered Sussex Royal as a global trademark for items including socks, bandannas and stationery, more as a preventative measure to stop it being used commercially by anyone else.

Harry and Meghan also planned to set up a new Sussex Royal charitable foundation, to be launched with the support of Buckingham Palace this year.

But after what have been called “lengthy and complex” discussions, the Queen and senior courtiers “are believed to have agreed it is no longer tenable for the couple to keep the word ‘royal’ in their ‘branding,” according to the Daily Mail.

It means Harry and Meghan will not just have to give up their official patronages and HRH titles for work purposes, but abandon their brand.

Megan and Prince Harry in Sussex in October 2018. Photo: Getty

The Queen’s decision was “inevitable”, a source told the UK tabloid.

“The Sussexes’ original plan – of being half-in, half-out working royals – was never going to work. Obviously, as the Queen has made clear, they are still much-loved members of her family.

“But if they aren’t carrying out official duties and are now seeking other commercial opportunities, they simply cannot be allowed to market themselves as royals.”

According to Town & Country magazine, the Queen’s ban is not confirmed, and discussions are “ongoing” as part of the process to “transition” Harry and Meghan into their next careers.

Still, a source agreed the “likely direction” in these ongoing discussions was for the pair to stop using the Sussex Royal brand.

The Sussexes and Her Majesty at Princess Eugenie’s 2018 wedding. Photo: Getty

It’s a stunning setback for Meghan and Harry, who will need to rebadge, and face re-registering everything under a new name.

The couple has spent “tens of thousands” on their six-week old Sussex Royal website. It matches their gangbusters Instagram page, which has soared in popularity since the unprecedented ‘Megxit’ and has 11.2 million followers.

The British tabloid “understands that, amid what has been described as a ‘complex’ situation, the ‘fine detail’ is still being thrashed out on the loss of their proposed corporate identity.

“However, it is understood the couple have accepted that, as part of their new working arrangements, they will not be able to use the Sussex Royal name as they had hoped.”

Harry and Meghan began using the Sussex Royal branding a year ago, when they broke away from the Kensington Royal household of Prince William and Kate Middleton to launch their own court.

The couple hoped their signature cobalt blue branding and lavish font would be used on their new foundation as they build “financial independence” and a new life with son Archie, 9 months, in Canada.

Buckingham Palace, which said the Sussexes’ life as non senior royals would kick off in the northern spring, would not comment on the claim.

After trips to Florida to speak at an exclusive investors’ summit and California, where they took part in a think tank at Stanford University, Harry and Meghan flew back to Vancouver Island on February 14.

They are said to be bringing Archie home to the UK for final royal duties including a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.