When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in May 2019, they decided not to give him a royal title. Mountbatten-Windsor is the official surname for members of the Royal Family who are not of the “Royal Highness” style.
Since stepping down as senior members of the royal family in 2020, Markle and Harry have opted to give their son an even more normal upbringing in the United States. However, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Archie is now believed to be the grandchild of King Charles III. Likewise, his younger sister Lilibet is now a princess.
This is all thanks to the rules of nobility that British royal titles dictate. Archie officially became a prince when his grandfather Charles III. ascended to king on September 8th. The current rules, issued by King George V in 1917, state that the title of prince or princess belongs to the sons and daughters of the sovereign, the grandchildren born to the sons of the sovereign and the eldest son of the eldest son of the prince of Wales (who would be Prince George today). For this reason, Prince Andrew’s children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, are princesses, while Princess Anne’s children, Peter and Zara Phillips, are not. The Queen reportedly offered Zara and Peter a “courtesy title,” but Princess Anne apparently declined.
The Queen made a change in 2012 and mandated it Everyone Children born to the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (aka Prince William) would be titled Prince or Princess at birth. So we have Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Assuming no further changes are made to the rules, Archie is a prince – according to the 1917 rule mentioned above. Archie could also one day inherit the Duke of Sussex and other titles from Harry. Archie is already eligible to use one of Harry’s “minor” titles, like the Earl of Dumbarton, but it seems they’ve decided not to use it.
Of course, Archie can still refuse to use the prince title — but we think Prince Archie has a lovely ring to it.
