Madame Tussauds is taking Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to “step back” from their duties as Royal members very seriously.
In fact, only a day after the couple’s Instagram announcement, Madame Tussauds removed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex figures from the Royal display in both its London and New York City locations.
The Royal Family display will now only include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Phillip and the Royal couple in line for the throne Prince William and his wife Kate.
Madame Tussauds London removes the wax figures of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, less than 24 hours after the couple announced plans to take a "step back" from their roles as senior members of the royal family. https://t.co/jPl0Os8mNx pic.twitter.com/FTF9dTE6mh
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 9, 2020
While Madame Tussauds wasted no time when it came to changing up their Royal Family display, not everyone was so impressed with the move.
Users on Twitter called the decision “petty” and many tweets questioned whether there weren’t bigger issues like the Australian bushfires for a large company to focus its attention on.
Others thought the museum’s decision was a grab for media attention. One user tweeted, “Great PR stunt” alongside a picture of the Royal display and the trending hashtag “megexit.”
Is it just me or is this not a bit pathetic? 🙄
https://t.co/1nNpDab8LN— Jo🌻🎗#OneTitWonder (@joelymack) January 9, 2020
It’s honestly not surprising Madame Tussauds is grasping for any PR away from their recent wax figure addition, which gave many fans meltdowns.
Their January debut of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” rendition at the Germany location is just plain wrong.
One Twitter user described Nicki’s wax figure as looking like a “Mexican stripper from Houston.”
Other Twitter users had more serious reactions to the botched figure, blaming Madame Tussauds for attempting to erase the culture and representation of African American women in their museums.
Steve Davies, the General Manager at Madame Tussauds London, released a statement addressing the museum’s decision to remove Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from the Royal display.
Expressing his surprise at the couple’s shocking news, Davies stated, “From today, Meghan and Harry’s figures will no longer appear in our Royal Family set. As two of our most popular and well-loved figures they will of course remain an important feature at Madame Tussauds London as we watch to see what the next chapter holds for them.”
Madame Tussauds may have reacted too soon. While Prince William was allegedly “blindsided” and “incredibly hurt” by his brother’s decision, The Queen does not even seem to be entertaining the idea.
After hearing news of the upcoming move, The Queen released this statement through Buckingham Palace, “Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that we will take time to work through.”
Madame Tussauds will soon be dragging those figures back to their positions if The Queen has anything to say about it.
