HUNDREDS of people have called for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to be stripped of their titles following their shock decision to stand down.

The Royal Family was said to be "hurt" and "deeply disappointed" on Wednesday night after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "stepped back" as senior members without consulting the Queen, the Prince of Wales or the Duke of Cambridge.

In an extraordinary statement, the couple announced plans to “step back” from their current roles and split their time between the UK and North America.

The move left the 93-year-old monarch and royal aides blindsided as they had only "very recently" been made aware of the Sussex's intentions.

>> Thousands sign petition to get Duke and Duchess of Sussex stripped of titles

Aides stressed the announcement was "personal" and had not been approved by the palace.

In a statement released almost two hours later, Buckingham Palace said the couple's "desire to take a different approach" created "complicated issues" that would take time to resolve.

The Argus:

Following the news, people called for the Sussex’s to relinquish their titles.

One said one Twitter: “Can’t blame anyone for quitting the royal family. It’s an outdated institution which ruins the lives of most people in it. If Harry & Meghan are going to quit, though, they have to quit properly. Ditch the HRH titles and the ‘royal’ patronages. Can’t have it both ways.”

Another said: “Presumably Harry and Meghan becoming financially independent of the Royal Family doesn’t involve them using the Royal titles they trademarked last month to sell merchandise?”

A third added: “If Meghan Markle and Harry are resigning from their Royal Family roles, maybe they can hand back their titles too and be Mr and Mrs? Just a thought...”

The shock announcement came a month after Brighton & Hove City Council was forced to consider a petition snub the Sussex’s.

The Argus:

The petition, started by Charles Ross, attracted 3,881 signatures.

It said: “The petition aims to establish a precedent that Brighton and Hove City Council will no longer afford official hospitality to those with royal or aristocratic titles nor make usage of those titles in official documents as these titles are arbitrarily and unfairly acquired.”

The Labour leader of the council Nancy Platts said that stripping royals of their titles was not a matter for a local authority as the power rested with the crown.

A move abroad would not necessarily mean they have to ditch their HRH titles.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have already made the first step towards doing that after they decided they didn't wants their son, Archie Mountbatten to have a royal title.

If Harry did give up his title it would have an impact on the line of succession.

Currently it stands as Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, then Prince Harry, followed by Archie Mountbatten Windsor, then Prince Andrew.

Without Prince Harry, Andrew would move up two places, as Archie also moves out of the line of succession.