After the Queen’s death, the line of succession changed for the Royal Family. As Prince William and Kate inherit the Prince and Princess of Wales titles.
People are now wondering what changes if any, will be made to Prince Harry’s and his family’s titles.
After King Charles ascended to the throne directly after the death of Queen Elizabeth, the new order of succession was instantly updated. However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have to wait about ten days to find out what titles their children would be inheriting.
After the Sussexes publicly announced their stepping down from their royal duties, Harry revealed that his relationship with his father had suffered greatly as a result. In recent events, however, King Charles III has seemingly extended an olive branch to his younger son.
The Sussexes were seen with King Charles III, the three of them being pictured together after almost two years, the last time being March 2020.
The couple’s painful decision to renounce their titles cause immense strain on their relationship with the rest of the royal family. In their interview with Oprah Winfrey, the former royals revealed their time working as senior royals and the toll it took on them; especially on Meghan.
Meghan Markle told a very concerned Oprah that at some points she had even been suicidal. She considered in-patient care for herself but was met with resistance from Buckingham Palace as she was told that it “wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
Another issue for the couple was the blatant racism Meghan had to face not only from the British media but from the institution of the Royal Family as well. The constant racist remarks are what Meghan and Harry believe to be the reason their son Archie was not given a title or provided security protection.
The couple revealed that unnamed members of the family were concerned that Harry’s unborn child might be ‘dark-skinned’ and worried about what the child would look like.
This is the reason everyone kept their distance from one another, and according to 7News, this was the first time King Charles saw his younger son and daughter-in-law since the Commonwealth Day Service in 2020.
The family participated jointly in the procession for the Queen. The Queen’s coffin was witnessed by crowds of thousands of people who waited for a glimpse of it amid heavy rain on September 13, 2022. The Royal Family made sure the procession was incredibly slow so that most people who showed up would get a chance to look at the coffin as it passed by.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle made their way from Windsor Castle to join other members of the royal family at Buckingham Palace, from where her coffin was transported to Westminister Hall. Her majesty’s coffin will stay in Westminister Hall till September 19, 2022, the day of her state funeral.
After a rough couple of years of distance, the family seems to be extending olive branches to one another and trying to somewhat heal their fractured relationships. The Prince of Wales also invited the Sussexes to the walkabout outside of Windsor Castle. The two young Princes greeted the crowds for about 45 minutes with their wives, portraying a united front to the public.
Even though people did not suspect this would be the case at the beginning because of Harry’s solo arrival at Balmoral. The Prince of Wales had arrived at Balmoral earlier in the day with his uncles, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew.
However, when Harry found out about his grandmother’s health, he immediately flew to Scotland to see her. Unfortunately, his flight landed just a short while after the Queen’s death had been announced.
Reports in the Daily Mail also speculated about Meghan not showing up to Balmoral. They reported that Meghan had initially wanted to accompany her husband however, it was revealed that the Princess of Wales had not joined Prince William either, she decided to stay back in London as well.
However, Royal expert Katie Nicholl claims that an invitation to join the royal family at Balmoral was not extended to Meghan Markle, so it was not entirely up to the Sussexes to decide either way.
“It’s understood that the family wanted Prince Harry to be there, even though he was unable to get to Balmoral in time to see his grandmother,” Nicholl told ET.
“But Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was not, we understand, invited to join the family,” Nicholl added. “She has said she will go to Balmoral another time. But I think it is quite significant that Prince Harry traveled to Balmoral on his own without his wife.”
However, to the public, the family still seemed to be on the mend with one another, especially after King Charle’s first address to the public as the new monarch. The new King specially mentioned his younger son and daughter-in-law saying, he wanted to “express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.”
However, when it comes to his grandchildren, the new King has been largely silent. Harry’s children are now the grandchildren of the monarch, and hence their royal titles have to be updated. Archie and Lilibet are currently not referred to with HRH stylings.
According to British news sources, the royal website where the line of succession is clearly displayed, shows the King’s older son Prince William and his wife having their titles updated to the Prince and Princess of Wales. After the Queen’s death, family members moved one step up in the line of succession. Kate Middleton is the new Princess of Wales, a title formerly held by Diana.
However, Archie and Lilibet’s titles have not been changed and they are still displayed as ‘Master’ and ‘Miss’ on the website. According to a law by George V in 1917, the grandchildren of a sovereign are to be given the titles of Prince and Princess. And now that Archie and Lilibet’s grandfather is the King, they should legally be able to get their titles as Prince and Princess.
An official response from the Palace has said that the titles on the website will be changed once a go-ahead is officially given. The Palace or the Sussexes have not yet confirmed whether the royal siblings will use their own titles.
The spokesperson clarified that it might take up to ten days for the decision to be made by The Firm on whether Archie and Lilibet will get their titles.
“At the moment, we’re focused on the next ten days, and as and when we get information, we will update that website,” the response mentioned.
According to a report on CNN, after the Queen’s death, the children of the Duke of Sussex should automatically become His Royal Highness Prince Archie of Sussex and Her Royal Highness Princess Lilibet of Sussex. Agin basing this on the law by George V in 1917.
The Royal website did update the titles for Prince William’s children, who will now be referred to as Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and Prince Louis of Wales.
A journalist was keen to highlight how the titles for Prince William and his family had been updated but Archie and Lilibet were still listed with their original stylings of ‘Master and Miss.’
The Sussex children have had an issue with their titles for a while. They did not initially qualify as the Queen’s great-grandchildren, which affected their titles. Markle suggested in her interview with Oprah, that perhaps this had something to do with race.
They also revealed in the interview how upset they were to learn that since their children did not get any royal titles, they would also not be getting any protection and safety. The couple strongly suggested this might have to do with race.
They revealed that they did expect the children to get their royal titles when their grandfather ascends to the throne but had been told that protocols for such an instance had been changed.
This was when King Charles was still the Prince of Wales and was said to want to trim down the monarchy and hence exclude his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet from getting the HRH stylings as well as the title of Prince and Princess.
Markle revealed more so than the title of Prince for her son, she wanted police protection for the little boy. “If it meant he was going to be safe, then of course,” she famously said.
Since the Queen’s passing, and King Charles ascending to the throne, there has been a lot of curiosity and confusion about the Sussex children’s titles. The Sun reported a few days ago that King Charles had agreed to issue letters of patent to confer titles of Prince and Princess to both Archie and Lilibet. However, the children would not be getting the HRH stylings from their grandfather, the King.
The decision has apparently left Harry and Meghan upset as it means their family would not be getting any security and the children would not be able to use the HRH style of address.
The Sussexes, according to reports have pointed out the disparity in their treatment in contrast to other royals. They cited examples of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie receiving HRH stylings even though they are not working royals.
An insider to the family stated, “But they have been left furious that Archie and Lilibet cannot take the title HRH.” The fact is that the children would be granted the titles of Prince and Princess but not the HRH status because “they are not working royals.”
Hopefully, the family will come to a resolution to this matter which pleases all parties involved.
What do you think about this update from the Royal Family? Let us know in the comments section!
