According to a report, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children won’t be given the titles of His and Her Royal Highness, making the exiled couple once more “furious” at the royal family over the omission.
Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, who reside in California, will soon receive the titles of prince and princess from Harry’s father, the new King Charles III, the Sun reports.
He has, however, refused to grant them the titles HRH, which were taken away from their podcasting parents after they left the family and the UK in 2020, after a week of tense negotiations.
“That is the agreement — they can be prince and princess but not HRH because they are not working royals,” one insider told the UK paper.
The choice was made after “a lot of talks over the past week,” ever since Harry’s father assumed the throne following the passing of his 96-year-old mother last Thursday.
“They have been relentless since the Queen died,” the insider said of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, saying they “have been insistent that Archie and Lilibet are prince and princess.”
“But they have been left furious that Archie and Lilibet cannot take the title HRH,” the source insisted.
One of Markle’s main points of attack was the debate surrounding Archie and Lilibet’s lack of titles, and she suggested to Oprah Winfrey that it might have been because of race.
She expressed concern that “the first member of color in this family not being titled in the same way that the other grandchildren” were and not receiving the necessary security.
Markle seemed to concur when Oprah asked if she believed it was “because of his race.”
“All around this same time — we have in tandem the conversation of, ‘He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title,’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” she had replied.
However, it soon became evident that according to royal protocol, a sovereign’s great-grandchildren do not receive such titles.
Charles has widely advocated for a smaller monarchy, though it is thought that this has changed now that Archie and Lilibet’s grandfather is the current monarch.
Archie and Lilibet are currently sixth and seventh in line for the throne and are only addressed as Master and Miss on the official succession chart.
They are not the only ones: Only nine other people in the top 23 have such titles.
According to Phil Dampier, a royal expert, Harry and Meghan “should be pleased” with the “classic compromise” presented.
“Even though their children are still high up in the line of succession, they will not be working royals, so it’s quite right they shouldn’t have titles,” he said.
“Lots of people think Harry and Meghan themselves should lose their titles, so I think they should just accept this compromise and be grateful as it could be a lot worse for them and their children.”
The new king is “focused on the mourning period,” which for the royal family lasts until September 26, according to a spokesperson for the king, making it “unlikely” that he will announce any new titles during that time.
A Sussexes representative did not respond to a question right away.
