If the British royal family follows tradition, the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday will give the children of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, the right to receive royal titles.
Under the rules laid down by King George V in 1917, a monarch’s children and grandchildren receive the titles — but not great-grandchildren. As Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, are grandchildren of King Charles III, the new head of the royal family, they have technically become prince and princess.
The two children also occupy, respectively, the sixth and seventh positions in the line of succession to the British throne.
Adoption of the title, however, is not mandatory, and it remains to be seen whether the couple will follow the convention and use them for their children. Meghan, in an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey last year, said the royal family had discussed changing the rules to permanently deprive Archie of the title.
According to her, the royal family decided, during Archie’s pregnancy, not to grant him the title of prince or the designation of His Royal Highness. Meghan suggested this was linked to royal concerns about the baby’s skin color.
Harry and Meghan did not name anyone who had expressed such concern, but the Duchess said she had a “pretty safe assumption” that, for those involved, the possibility of the couple’s first child having darker skin was an issue.
In excerpts of the interview that were not shown, Harry claimed that racism was one of the main reasons for the couple’s departure from the UK. Alongside his wife, he had already said that he had to put himself in Meghan’s shoes to understand the prejudice she faced as a black woman.
Asked by Oprah if she thought it was important to have her son called a prince, Meghan said she has no attachment to official titles. What bothered her, according to the account, was the idea that Archie, as the first member of the royal family of black descent, would not receive the same treatment as the Queen’s other great-grandchildren.
After the interview, Buckingham Palace released a response on behalf of the Queen. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are troubling,” the statement read. “While some memories may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be treated by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be very dear members of the family.”
Meghan and Harry stopped wearing Her Royal Highness’ most exclusive titles in 2020 after announcing they would no longer be royals and moving to the United States. His titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not change upon the Queen’s death.
Harry was not at his grandmother’s side when she died, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland – he arrived an hour after his death was announced by Buckingham Palace. Meghan stayed in London and chose not to join her husband on the occasion.
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