Harry and Meghan just got a big wish granted, as their daughter officially
received a long-awaited royal title. Here's how it happened despite the royal family rift.
On March 3, 2023, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, hosted a
christening for their 21-month-old daughter, Lilibet Diana, at their home in Montecito,
California. While it's often been speculated when and where Lilibet would be christened,
royal experts always thought it unlikely that it would occur in the UK.
Having the christening in the US was a choice that also reflected the
preferences of Lilibet's godfather, playwright and actor Tyler Perry.
"I go, 'Okay, what's going on?' They said, 'Well, we'd like you to be Lily's godfather.' I go,
'Whoa.'"
In the Netflix docuseries "Harry and Meghan," Perry recalled that while he was honored to be
chosen as a godparent, he had some misgivings about traveling abroad for the christening.
"Does this mean we got to go over and do all of that in the church
with them and figure all that out, because I don't want to do that."
As an alternative, he suggested a small ceremony in Montecito instead.
Like Perry envisioned, the event was a smaller affair, with 20 to 30 guests. Meghan and Harry
also kept the guest list small for Archie's christening. In 2019, Lilibet's older brother
was christened at Windsor Castle with 25 guests attending. While Doria Ragland,
Meghan's mother, participated in both events, Harry's side of the family was notably absent
this time. Even so, the ceremony provided a royal touch in terms of Lilibet's title.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's spokesperson used
Lilibet's new title for the first time when announcing her christening, saying,
"I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March
3 by the bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, the Rev. John Taylor."
As reported by People, Harry and Meghan invited King Charles, Queen consort Camilla, and William
and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, to Lilibet's christening. While it is unknown
exactly why the royals didn't attend, it appears they've been involved in discussions concerning
the debut of Archie and Lilibet's titles. Now that the big reveal has occurred, Buckingham
Palace has updated the line of succession on the official royal website to reflect their titles.
According to a 1917 decision made by George V, Archie and Lilibet have had
access to these titles since September 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth. George
V's rule states that the current monarch's grandchildren who have a male royal parent
can use prince or princess titles. However, Archie and Lilibet are not eligible to be
styled as His or Her Royal Highness, since Harry is no longer a working royal. Instead
these designations are in abeyance — a kind of limbo where they existed but aren't used.
Royal titles can be murky. During Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with
Oprah in 2021, Meghan revealed her surprise when she learned that Archie wouldn't get a
title. She mistakenly believed her child was being unfairly excluded.
"They were saying they didn't want him to be a prince or a princess,
not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol."
At the time Archie was a great-grandchild of the monarch,
so he didn't qualify under George V's rules.
However, to add to the confusion, Archie's cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte,
and Prince Louis have had their titles since birth. Although they too didn't
fit George V's stipulations, another monarch intervened on their behalf — Queen Elizabeth.
Since Prince George will one day be king, his great-grandmother wanted him to be designated a
prince right away. She also decided to give his younger siblings the same privilege.
Even though Elizabeth didn't expand this title option to her other great-grandchildren,
Archie and Lilibet weren't alone in their lack of royal titles. Princess Anne's two children,
Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, weren't eligible either, since George V's declaration specifies
that it's the children of the monarch's sons who can be called prince and princess. However,
in their case, when Queen Elizabeth offered to change the rules, their mother declined.
Looking back, Anne was pleased with her decision. In 2020 she told Vanity Fair,
"I think it was probably easier for them,
and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles."
We can only wonder what effect the new titles will have on Prince
Archie and Princess Lilibet in the years ahead.
"I just want them to be happy."