Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s children will officially be referred to as Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, it has been confirmed.
The confirmation comes after Lilibet was christened “Princess Lilibet Diana” at a ceremony in California on Friday (3 March).
“I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, 3 March by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor,” a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told The Mirror.
The Independent has contacted representatives of the couple for comment.
It is understood the King was aware beforehand that the Sussexes intended to refer to their daughter as Princess Lili and that there had been correspondence about the matter.
The development follows a royal row over titles that erupted when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and stopped using their HRH styles.
Originally, Lilibet, one, and her older brother Archie, three, were not given HRH titles at birth due to their position in the line of succession. At the time of both of their births, they were the great-grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II.
Following the death of the Queen in September, Charles became King. As a result, Archie and Lilibet became the grandchildren of a monarch, which changed their royal roles.
At present, the children are listed as Master Archie and Miss Lilibet on the royal website.
A royal source told The Mirror: “As the duke and duchess have now confirmed this, the website will now be updated in due course.”
It is understood the HRH titles will be used in formal settings, but not in everyday conversational use by the couple, and this was the first opportunity to do so since the death of the late Queen.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s spokesman confirmed to People magazine that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s second child was christened on Friday 3 March by the Archbishop of Los Angeles at their home in Montecito, California.
The source told the publication that Meghan Markle, 41, and Prince Harry, 38, extended an invite to King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton, but they were “not in attendance”.
According to the US publication, there were 20 to 30 guests at the intimate ceremony, including Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland and Lilibet’s godfather, Tyler Perry.
The news comes as the Sussexes indicated that they received an invitation to the King’s coronation on 6 May but had not yet confirmed whether they would attend.
Speculation over whether the couple would be invited to the ceremony after King Charles III requested they vacate their UK home, Frogmore Cottage, has increased over the past week.
