King Charles is willing to give Archie and Lilibet prince and princess titles, says expert

By James On Sep 23, 2022

King Charles is ready to officially give the Duke and Duchess of the Children of Sussex prince and princess titles, but “there is a caveat and that caveat is trust,” said a royal expert.

On the latest episode of True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat, Katie Nicholl discussed speculation about whether Harry and Meghan’s children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, will be officially recognized by the new titles.

After the death of the Queen, who passed away peacefully in Balmoral on 8 September, at the age of 96, the Sussex children are entitled to them as grandchildren of the monarch.

However, as Katie pointed out, the kids are still listed on the royal website as “Master” and “Miss.”

She said King Charles is “willing to give those titles, but it comes with a caveat, and that caveat is confidence.”

King Charles is ready to officially give the Duke and Duchess of the Children of Sussex Prince and Princess titles, but ‘there is a caveat and that caveat is confidence,’ said Katie Nicholl

Katie explained: “One of the interesting things that came out of all this was the speculation about titles, and Archie and Lilibet…whether they would be officially recognized as Prince and Princess, the titles they owed when Charles became king…’

She continued: ‘They remain ‘Miss’ and ‘Master’ at the moment [on the Royal Website].

“And I’m told that’s a very clear signal from the king. He is willing to give those titles, but it comes with a caveat, and that caveat is confidence.

“They need to know that they can rely on the… [Sussex] family.’

After the Queen’s death, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children have the right to become Prince and Princess, as grandchildren of the Sovereign

When Archie and Lilibet were born, they were too far in the line of succession to receive the titles of Prince and Princess, due to rules issued by King George V in 1917.

But the Queen’s death means they are now the monarch’s grandchildren, rather than great-grandchildren, and have the right to be addressed as Prince and Princess and to use HRH.

However, it has been reported that as non-working royals, they will not get the HRH titles.

Royal expert Phil Dampier previously told MailOnline that it would be a classic compromise to let them become prince and princess, but not HRH.

He said: ‘The same thing happened to Diana and Fergie after they separated from Charles and Andrew. And of course Sarah Ferguson is still the Duchess of York today.

According to royal expert Katie Nicholl (pictured appearing on The Royal Beat), there has been speculation about the titles of the Sussex children since Her Majesty’s death

Harry and Meghan should be happy because using prince or princess sounds good in the United States.

“But while their children are still high in the line of succession, they won’t be working royals, so it’s entirely right they shouldn’t have. [HRH] titles.’

It comes after a source told The Sun: “Harry and Meghan were concerned about the security issue and being prince and princess entitles them to certain levels of royal security. There have been many conversations in the past week.’

The source added: “But they are furious that Archie and Lilibet cannot take the title HRH.

“That’s the deal – they can be prince and princess, but not HRH because they’re not royals.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the long walk at Windsor Castle on September 10, two days after the Queen’s death

Meanwhile, Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers, who also appeared in the episode, said there is still some mistrust between the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Sussexes.

He said: ‘I spoke to someone who is very close to William and Kate and they said ‘Don’t let this fool you’ [the time the couples spent together following the death of the Queen].

“I know everyone wants them to come together and have this great truce, but the truce is very temporary. [The truce] was for the queen. The Queen was always about unity, especially of her family.

“And she would have wanted the boys to get together, and William certainly invited the Sussexes to come forward and join that walk. But as far as [William] is concerned, there is still a lot of mistrust in the camp.’

The Royal Beat can be viewed on available on True Royalty TV.

How the Rules About HRH Go Back to Letters Patent by King George V in 1917

The rules for HRH – His or Her Royal Highness – titles in the modern royal family can be traced back to the founder of the House of Windsor, King George V, who issued Letters Patent in 1917, limiting its use.

He stated: ‘The grandchildren of the sons of such a Sovereign in the direct male line (except only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall on all occasions have and enjoy the style and title which the children to enjoy. of the dukes of these Our Realms.’

This means that both of King Charles III’s children – Prince William and Prince Harry – have the right to be HRH. While William uses this title, Harry hasn’t since retired as a senior working royal in early 2020, but he still retains it.

The grandchildren of a monarch in the male line are also HRH, which applies to the children of William and Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

So it technically also applies to Harry and Meghan Markle’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet – but they’re not expected to get the title because the family doesn’t work royals. Buckingham Palace said in March 2020 that Harry and Meghan would not use HRH.

Once a person is awarded an HRH title, it will remain for the rest of their life, even if the rule changes – unless the monarch chose to issue Letters Patent to remove it.

This means that William, Harry, Beatrice and Eugenie are all HRHs because they are the children of sons of Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Edward’s children – Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn – are also technically HRH, but their parents said they would not use those titles.

Princess Anne’s children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, have no right to be HRH because they are the children of a daughter – not a son – of the Queen.

Charles no longer has the HRH style as he has become HM or His Majesty. Likewise, Camilla is now no longer HRH and is instead HM, or Her Majesty.

Other members of the royal family who have HRH include the Duke of Gloucester who is the grandchild of King George V through his third son Henry, Duke of Gloucester.

The Duke of Kent, his sister Princess Alexandra and his brother Prince Michael also hold the title. This is because their father George, Duke of Kent, was the fourth son of King George V.

The HRH style is also passed down to a husband – meaning queen consort Camilla (who is now HM, not HRH); Kate; Sophie; Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester; Katharine, Duchess of Kent; and Princess Michael of Kent were all given the title after their marriage.

But the husbands of female HRHs aren’t entitled to the style — like Eugenie’s husband Jack Brooksbank and Beatrice’s husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Sarah, Duchess of York, was given the title after she married Prince Andrew, but lost it after her divorce in 1996.