Uh-oh! Things aren’t working out so well for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle!
The royal family has been seeing lots of change in the last week following Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Not only do they have a new monarch stepping up to the plate, but many are also enjoying new titles and inheritances. But there are two people who are not so pleased with the changes!
According to The Sun on Thursday, Harry and Meghan are “furious” their children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, will NOT receive the HRH status (His or Her Royal Highness) when they are made Prince and Princess. This new decision comes after King Charles III officially decided to grant his grandkids the new titles upon his rise to the throne, the first time they’ve been honored with such since their birth. But apparently, it’s not enough for their parents!
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If you don’t know, since 1917, the royal family has been very strict about which family members can have a Royal Highness title. At the time, King George V issued a rule stating only those highest in succession to the throne can have the titles, explaining:
“The children of any Sovereign of these Realms and the children of the sons of any such Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales shall have and at all times hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour.”
When Archie was born in 2019, he was seventh in line to the throne — AKA too far down the line of succession. Also, he was not the first-born son of a future king, so he wasn’t automatically made a prince, either. With Charles taking the throne, they are now grandchildren of a sovereign — meaning they can claim the title of prince and princess. But HRH status, as in being addressed as a senior member of this royal family, is a whole other story!
According to The Sun‘s insider, Harry and Meghan have been campaigning for their children to receive the royal address along with their new Prince and Princess titles, but Charles will have nothing of it! He reportedly won’t allow the honor since the kids won’t be working royals. (As a reminder, his son and daughter-in-law stopped using the titles once they weren’t working royals, as well). Though, interestingly, Harry and Meghan don’t think that’s a strong enough excuse. They don’t believe their status in the family business should be factored into the decision since Prince Andrew’s daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have HRH status despite not being working royals. Hmm.
A source told the outlet there have been many tense conversations throughout the week about the matter, sharing:
“Harry and Meghan were worried about the security issue and being prince and princess brings them the right to have certain levels of royal security. There have been a lot of talks over the past week.”
Seems like a step in the right direction then! The insider also dubbed the couple as being “relentless” about the issue ever since the Queen’s death, adding:
“They have been insistent that Archie and Lilibet are prince and princess. They have been relentless since the Queen died.”
Oof. Not the best time to be fighting about a name! The source continued:
“But they have been left furious that Archie and Lilibet cannot take the title HRH. That is the agreement — they can be prince and princess but not HRH because they are not working royals.”
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Seems like King Charles is holding a bit of a grudge amid their feud! Meanwhile, royal expert Phil Dampier told DailyMail.com on Thursday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should be pleased with the Prince and Princess status, arguing:
“Letting Archie and Lilibet become a Prince and Princess but not have HRH titles would be a classic compromise. The same thing happened to [Princess] Diana and [Sarah Ferguson] Fergie after they were divorced from Charles and Andrew. And of course Sarah Ferguson is still the Duchess of York today. Harry and Meghan should be pleased as using Prince or Princess sounds good in the States.”
Except the California resident’s kids are directly related by blood to grandpoppa King Charles.
It’s definitely a cool title to have — and maybe one the parents should feel lucky about! Phil went on to insist many have campaigned to get Harry and Meghan’s Duke and Duchess titles removed ever since they left the UK in 2020, adding:
“But 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. 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.”
Oooh. Inneresting perspective.
Of course, these new titles come after the Suits alum claimed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that Archie was denied Prince status when he was born supposedly because of his race. When asked if it was “important” to her if her son be called a prince, she insisted she had no attachment to the “grandeur” of official titles. She also called out the Firm for not protecting her child, saying:
“It’s like, OK, well, he needs to be safe, so we’re not saying, ‘Don’t make him a prince or a princess,’ whatever it’s going to be. But if you’re saying the title is what’s going to affect their protection, we haven’t created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder. You’ve allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe.”
Doesn’t sound like it matters much now that Archie and Lili have prince and princess titles if it won’t allow for the same royal security! But what do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Do the parents have a reason to be upset?? Sound OFF (below)!
