Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's kids remain without titles despite earlier reports that Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, would be known as prince and princess following the proclamation and ascension of their grandfather, King Charles III.
Under the new monarch, the Royal Family official site has updated its line of succession, but only the children of Prince William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, have titles attached to their names. Before the update, numerous outlets, including CNN, reported that Archie and Lilibet are now to be known as prince and princess.
However, the children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are still listed as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor on the royal's website, realigning with their parents' decision to step back from their royal roles and move to California.
Palace spokesperson clarifies missing titles for Archie and Lili
On Saturday, following the proclamation, a palace spokesperson acknowledged that only Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis' names had been updated on the official site to reflect their new family name from Cambridge to Wales. This was because the King publicly announced that his heir to the throne, William, would now be known as the Prince of Wales. William's children and his wife will automatically carry his title.
However, the King has not publicly announced any changes to Harry and Meghan's status, except to acknowledge that they will continue their life in California. While numerous reports cited Archie and Lili's automatic entitlement to royal titles, as their grandfather is now the Sovereign, the palace spokesperson said that the updates would follow once there is an order from the King. The King's spokesperson did not say whether Archie and Lilibet are actually entitled to "prince" and "princess," as was reported in the press.
"At the moment, we're focused on the next 10 days and as and when we get information, we will update that website," the spokesperson said, per Elle.
Why the title is a major issue
In March 2021, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, went public with a private family disagreement about Archie's title at birth. Speaking with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan implied that her children with the Duke of Sussex would not be given the titles prince or princess because they were of mixed race, per Marie Claire. Allegedly, Prince Harry and Meghan wanted royal titles for their children to guarantee their security protection.
However, the Palace denied the allegations by stating that it was an issue of royal protocols, not racism. Technically, they could not confer titles to Prince Harry's kids because of his place as the second son of the then heir to the throne. Royal protocols limit such privileges to firstborn children, William and his family.
As the king, Charles may issue a Letters Patent to make the necessary changes, but there are speculations he will still not confer the titles to the children of Harry and Meghan as they gave up their royal duties in 2018. This suggested that the Sussex pair might have been told of this arrangement long before they left their royal life.
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