Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie was born, questions have lingered over
whether he — and now his sister Lilibet Diana — are supposed to have the title of
Prince and Princess. One royal expert had originally said yes, subject to what their
parents had wanted. Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, told People that:
"As the grandchildren of the Sovereign, they have the right to be upgraded to the style
of His or Her Royal Highness. But that begs a question of whether Harry and Meghan want
that."
He further raised the possibility that they could follow in the footsteps of Harry's youngest
uncle, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Wessex, respectively,
and skip the "Their Royal Highnesses" so the children might lead normal lives. Queen Elizabeth's
daughter, Princess Anne, made the same choices for her children, Peter and Zara Phillips.
But the Daily Mail has said that the matter may no longer be for Harry and Meghan to decide.
According to their report, a decision by Harry's father Prince Charles could have an impact
on what Archie and Lili's future roles in the Royal Family would be, because he has
decided to put a cap on the number of senior Royals. This means that under a streamlined
monarchy, only the heirs to the throne and their immediate families would have titles,
financial support and police protection paid for with British taxpayer money. The Daily
Mail reports that Harry and Meghan found out about the discussion of a slimmed-down monarchy
just before the interview with Oprah Winfrey back in March.
Who does and doesn't get a title is determined by a "letters patent", which the Royal Collection
Trust defines as a document from the King or Queen, and which is used to spell out what
the sovereign wants to do. A letters patent is used to create new titles: For instance,
Prince Charles himself didn't come about the title "Prince of Wales" through birth — he
was named Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Wales, and Earl of Chester through a letters patent
in 1958.
The letters patent in use today was written by King George V in 1917 which cut the number
of family members who could use "Royal Highness", and with the title Prince or Princess that
comes with it to the children of the sons of the Sovereign, down to
"The eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales"
Today, that would be, Prince George - via his grandfather Charles and his father William.
Everyone else on down, is meant to have,
"The style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes.”
There is a new letters patent which exists — one drawn up by the Queen in 2012 before
Prince George was born, that ensures that all the Cambridge children would have the
styling of Prince or Princess.
The British magazine Tatler did a deep dive into what the letters patent truly mean. They
contend that King George V was aware of the anti-monarchy movement sweeping Europe during
that time, and that he knew there was a need to modernize in order to survive. He cut down
the number of royal family members, in part because his grandparents, Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert, had nine children who had themselves married into other royal families.
Prince Charles has made no secret of the fact that he wants a more streamlined royal family.
The Telegraph reported back in April that both he and Prince William were set to hold
a summit to talk about the next two generations of the family after Prince Philip passed away.
That meeting was meant to discuss how many full-time working royals there would be, who
they were, and what they could and should do. Under the original scheme, Charles had
thought to have himself and his wife, Camilia, his parents, the Queen and Prince Philip;
Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, and then Prince Harry — until William’s
children George, Charlotte, and Louis were old enough, to serve their duties.
If he decides to make the change, Prince Charles wouldn't be the first 21st century monarch
to take titles away from his own grandchildren. In 2019, Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf did
the same, taking the title of "royal highness" away from five of his seven grandchildren.
This meant that while they were still members of the family, they wouldn't be expected to
carry out any royal duties, and they would not be entitled to an allowance paid for by
taxpayers.
If Charles carries through his plan, Harry and Meghan’s children would be in the same
boat as the Swedish king’s grandchildren. He has every legal right to do so, according
to British law.
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