Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have issued a statement stating that their children have a “birthright” to be called prince and princess.
This announcement comes after the couple confirmed the christening of their daughter, Lilibet Diana, in America last week, and used her royal title in the announcement.
According to the couple, the matter of titles had been “settled for some time,” with King Charles reportedly allowing his grandchildren to be called prince and princess in a conversation after the Queen’s funeral last year.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s spokesperson stated that “The children’s titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became Monarch.
This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace.”
Archie and Lilibet became a prince and princess when the King acceded to the throne, but have remained a plain ‘master’ and ‘miss’ on the Buckingham Palace website for the past six months.
However, that changed on Thursday morning when the website now reads Prince Archie Harrison of Sussex and Princess Lilibet Diana of Sussex.
The couple is understood to want to give their children the chance to decide for themselves when they are older whether they want to use the titles.
Rules set out by King George V in 1917 mean Archie and Lili, as the children of a son of a sovereign, are automatically a prince and a princess.
In their interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan claimed that Archie was not given the title of prince because of his race.
However, the real reason was that although he was a great-grandchild of the monarch, he was not a first-born son of a future king and so was not automatically a prince. Lilibet also now has an HRH – Her Royal Highness – style title if she wishes to use it.
A spokesperson for the couple confirmed that Lilibet Diana was christened on March 3 by the Bishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.
The christening reportedly had between 20 and 30 guests, including Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland and Lilibet’s godfather Tyler Perry.
A gospel choir also performed at the event. Royal journalist Omid Scobie reported that “King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Kate were invited but didn’t attend.”
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