Harry and Meghan’s children will reportedly not be granted HRH status when they are appointed by prince and princess by King Charles III. Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, are expected to be officially made prince and princess in the near future as Charles has agreed to issue a Letters Patent to grant the titles. But following tense talks between the new King over recent days, the Sussexes have been left ‘furious’ that their children will not also get HRH titles.
Harry and Meghan are said to have highlighted that Prince Andrew’s daughters Beatrice and Eugenie have HRH status despite not being working royals. A source told The Sun: ‘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. 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.’ Archie and Lilibet are entitled to the titles following the death of the Queen as part of rules set out by King George V in 1917 – which limited the number of royals using HRH. Meghan has previously claimed the HRH title was earlier denied to Archie because of his race. And when asked if it was ‘important’ for Meghan that Archie be called a prince, she said she doesn’t have any attachment to the ‘grandeur’ of official titles. Meanwhile, the Sussexes stopped using their own HRH styles after stepping down as senior working royals for a life in Los Angeles, and there were later calls for their duke and duchess titles to be removed.
In 1917, King George V issued new letters patent that limited the number of royal family members with an HRH title. The Queens grandfather’s rules stated that ‘the children of any Sovereign of these Realms and the children of the sons of any such Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales shall have and at all times hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour’. When Archie was born seventh in line to the throne in May 2019, he was too far down the line of succession.
Although he was a great-grandchild of the monarch, he was not a first-born son of a future king, so was not automatically a prince. It comes after Prince Harry seemed overcome with emotion as he honoured Queen Elizabeth II for her moving lying in state service inside Westminster Hall on Wednesday. As the late monarch’s coffin was placed in the hall, photos captured a poignant moment for the Duke of Sussex as he held his head in his hand, shielding his eyes, and looked down.
Wearing a suit decorated with medals, he is standing next to the Duchess of Sussex, who is looking down with a sombre expression on her face. Prince Harry and his brother Prince William stood together with their wives Meghan and Kate as they put aside their bitter feud to pay their respects to their grandmother. The Sussexes stood at the back of the group of royals, with Harry directly behind William and Meghan behind Kate.
The touching moment is the first time the couples have been seen together since their surprise walkabout together at Windsor Castle on Saturday, and a rare show of togetherness. Royal couples left the building side by side, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex holding hands and the Princess of Wales rubbing her husband’s arm reassuringly.
