With the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children should become Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet — unless the newly acceded King Charles III opts to break with tradition and ditch the royal titles.
The change in title typically occurs when a new monarch takes the throne, and the kids move from being great-grandchildren of the ruler to grandchildren. And while the children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are entitled to their regal designations by law, Meghan previously indicated she believes her kids will be robbed of their royal titles.
During a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, the former “Suits” actress said that the royal family had discussed changing the rules to prevent Archie from taking on his princely title. Meghan added they made the decision while she was still pregnant with her first child and claimed it stemmed from concerns about how “dark” the color of the baby’s skin would be.
“I think even with that convention I’m talking about, while I was pregnant, they said they want to change the convention for Archie,” she said in the interview.
Under protocols established in 1917 by King George V — Queen Elizabeth II’s grandfather — the children and grandchildren of the reigning royal are granted titles, though great-grandchildren are excluded.
At the time of their births, both Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, were great-grandchildren to the sovereign. They’re now grandchildren of the new king, Charles, who has previously expressed a desire to slim down the monarchy. While Charles has not provided further details yet, it’s possible he could cut the number of working royals to only those at the core of the succession line.
In order to prevent Archie from becoming a prince and Lilibet a princess, King Charles would have to issue a Letters Patent.
Under the current line of succession, the young royals, who reside in California with their parents, are now sixth and seventh in line for the British throne. They are preceded by their uncle, Prince William, and his three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, and then Harry.
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