Harry and Meghan warned King to hold back on children titles after ‘bonds of trust broken’
Lilibet and Archie might not get the prince and princess titles over their parents’ dispute with King Charles, a royal author suggested.
King Charles could ultimately decide to deny the Sussexes’ kids their royal titles because of the ongoing row with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, author Katie Nicholl claimed. According to tradition, as children of the sovereign’s son, Archie and Lilibet are entitled to be known as Prince and Princess automatically, and as such, can be styled His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness. But while William’s children’s titles have swifly been changed to “of Wales” on the Royal Family’s website, Archie and Lili’s have remained unchanged.
Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent Katie Nicholl told Palace Confidential: “It will be very intestesting to see what the King does and whether he uses that as a sort of final conciliatory move, and absolutely do bring Harry and Meghan back in. “But I think so much of it comes down to a matter of trust. “And there is a sense…that bond of trust has been broken by the couple.” Upon the death of the Queen, Archie and Lilibet should have been allowed to use their new titles but are still listed as “Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor” and “Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor” in the official line of succession.
According to a rule established by King George V in 1917, “…the grandchildren of the sons of any such sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of these our realms.” However, whether they will get the HRH titles is now up to King Charles, who has the power to change the rules.
There have reportedly been arguments behind the scenes over the issue, with a source telling the Sun Harry and Meghan are not pleased about the apparent absence of title. The source said: “Harry and Meghan were worried about the security issue and being prince and princess brings them the right to have certain levels of royal security.” “There have been a lot of talks over the past week. They have been insistent that Archie and Lilibet are prince and princess. They have been relentless since the Queen died.”
Harry and Meghan are adamant their children should get the coveted royal title in part because of the extra royal security they would be entitled to. The source told The Sun: “But they have been left furious that Archie and Lilibet cannot take the title HRH. “That is the agreement—they can be prince and princess but not HRH because they are not working royals.”
It remains unclear whether King Charles will concede to their request, as access to the title is not automatic. Past monarchs, including Queen Elizabeth, have resorted to a royal order known as “letters patent” allowing them to use a different set of titles than the ones they technically were supposed to hand over.King Charles now faces an unprecedented case with Meghan and Harry, who stepped back from their royal duties in 2020 and gave up on their royal highnesses titles. Meghan had previously alleged her son’s title had been put into question before his birth.
