Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children are now entitled to royal titles after Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Following the death of the monarch on Thursday and the subsequent enthronement of King Charles III, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet “Lili” Mountbatten-Windsor can now be called Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, but only if the royal family follows tradition.
The rules, drawn up by King George V in 1917, state that the children and grandchildren of the monarch, in this case Charles, can claim titles.
The parents of the little ones, for their part, stopped using their titles His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness in January 2020 when they relinquished their senior royal duties.
In February of the following year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their departure official.
Markle, 41, claimed in an explosive March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey that Archie hadn’t become a prince because of a change in protocol and claimed he was treated differently from his cousins.
“When I was pregnant they said they wanted to change the convention for Archie,” she claimed at the time.
The “Suits” alum shared her emotions about “the idea that our son isn’t safe, and also the idea that the first colored member in this family doesn’t get the same title as other grandchildren.”
Markle explained that she wanted Archie to have a title for the security that came with it.
“All the grandeur around this stuff is an attachment that I personally don’t have. I’ve been a waitress, an actress, a princess, a duchess, I’ve always been just Meghan,” she noted, calling “mama” her “most important” title.
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Charles – who has often talked about downsizing the monarchy – communicated to Harry, 37, that Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1 will not be getting any titles.
Charles, 73, reportedly told his estranged son that he will change key documents that will prevent Archie and Lilibet from inheriting titles, which would normally be their birthright, the Daily Mail reported in July.
The children are currently sixth and seventh in line to the throne after Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Harry.