Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Deny Claims Of Competing With Queen's Honors List: Rivalry ‘False’

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have shut down claims that they are planning to compete with Queen Elizabeth II's honors list.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are busy working on their non-profit organization, Archewell. However, British media recently reported that they will launch an awards ceremony similar to the Queen's through their new venture. Now, Prince Harry and Markle have set the record straight and said the rumored rivalry is "false."

"We look forward to sharing more about Archewell's work in the weeks ahead but any suggestion that it is intended to rival the U.K. honors list is false," an Archewell press secretary said in a statement sent to media, including Harper's Bazaar.

"Furthermore, the trademark application has followed the normal course of business for the U.S. Trademark process and any suggestion otherwise is also false," the rep continued.

Claims of the Sussexes potentially competing with the Queen's honor awards stemmed from a report from The Sun. The outlet claimed that the couple would recognize individuals and their standout work and celebrate "charitable service, education, science, literature, racial justice, gender equity, environmental stewardship, youth empowerment, health and mental health."

The Queen's honors, which include MBEs, OBEs and CBEs, are handed out twice a year. Meanwhile, the report said Prince Harry and Markle's recognition ceremony would be run by Archewell.

The Sun also claimed that lawyers rejected their trademark application because their papers were "vague and not signed." They were given allegedly six months to resubmit the application, and the Sussexes' legal team filed the clarifying documents hours before the deadline. The application is currently under review, the U.K. tabloid said.

However, Sussex Media has already denied that its trademark application was rejected. In contrast to the report, the application is moving forward in the U.S. and internationally.

"It’s misleading to say that Archewell’s trademark applications were rejected -- the applications are live and pending, and do not need to be refiled or restarted," Sussex Media said in an email to International Business Times.

Prince Harry and Markle launched the official website of Archewell foundation in October. However, the page only shows the meaning behind the name of the foundation and an email sign-up option for those who want to receive updates about the foundation.