The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have begun using the titles Prince and Princess for their children Archie and Lilibet.
Harry and Meghan’s children became prince and princess when the king ascended to the throne, but have remained a regular ‘master’ and ‘miss’ on the Buckingham Palace website for the past six months.
The palace confirmed that the site’s succession list will now be updated to reflect the change after a Sussex spokesperson publicly named Lili a princess for the first time today when announcing news of her baptism.
Here, MailOnline looks at some of the key questions surrounding the news:
What is Lilibet’s full name?
Lilibet, known as “Lili” for short, was listed as “Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor” on her California birth certificate.
Buckingham Palace currently refers to her on the royal website as ‘Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor’.
Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, after celebrating her first birthday last June
What are Harry and Meghan’s name Lilibet?
Lili was described as “Princess Lilibet Diana” in a statement from a spokesperson for the couple today, confirming her baptism last Friday.
It was the first time Lili had been called a princess in public.
While it is clear that the title will be used in formal situations, it will not be used in everyday conversation by the couple.
So she will probably still be known as “Lilibet” in most scenarios.
Can Lilibet choose her title when she’s older?
Harry and Meghan are understood not to want to deny their children their birthright, but to give them the opportunity to decide for themselves later in life whether to drop the titles or keep using them.
So it’s up to Lilibet if she wants to describe herself as a princess.
So is Lilibet officially a princess?
Yes, Harry and Meghan’s children, Archie and Lilibet, became prince and princess respectively when King Charles ascended the throne last September.
However, it is only now that the pair have chosen to use the title.
Why can she be a princess?
Rules established by King George V in 1917 mean that as the children of a sovereign’s son, Archie and Lili are automatically a prince and a princess.
Lilibet’s first photo was released in a Christmas card on December 23, 2021
What did Buckingham Palace say?
Buckingham Palace has said the royal website “will now be updated in due course” to reflect the titles – making Lilibet a princess.
Earlier, at the time of the late Queen’s passing and the King’s accession last year, a spokesman for the King promised to update Archie and Lilibet’s names on the site “as and when we get information.”
What has the couple previously said about the matter?
Meghan said in the couple’s bombshell interview with American talk show host Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that Archie was not given the title of prince because of his race.
However, when he was born seventh in line to the throne in May 2019, he was too far down the line of succession.
Although he was a great-grandchild of the monarch, he was not the firstborn son of a future king and thus not automatically a prince.
Does Lilibet have the HRH title?
Lilibet also now has a HRH – Her Royal Highness – style title if she wants to use it.
But it also understood that HRH will be kept ‘suspended’, describing a state of temporary inoperability.
‘Lili’ was baptized by the Bishop of Los Angeles, Reverend John Taylor
Who baptized Lilibet?
The couple’s statement said Lilibet was “baptized on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Reverend John Taylor.”
But Reverend Taylor is actually the Bishop of Los Angeles in the Episcopal Church in the US, which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The Archbishop of Los Angeles is the Rev. José H. Gomez, who leads the largest Catholic community in the US.
Does this mean that Lilibet can never join the Church of England?
Holding the ceremony in the US means that Lilibet is not automatically considered a ‘member’ of the Church of England.
But she could later join a Church of England congregation if she came to Britain.
Will Lilibet have to be baptized in a Church of England ceremony in the future?
No. Because the Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, baptism in the US is valid in the UK.
A royal infant also does not need to be baptized in a Church of England church to enter the royal line of succession.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their son Archie, and (left to right) the Queen Consort, the King, Mrs Doria Ragland, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and the Prince and Princess of Wales at Windsor Castle after his christening in July 2019
Is Meghan part of the Church of England?
Meghan attended a Catholic secondary school in the US, but was baptized and confirmed in the Church of England in a private ceremony presided over by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby before her wedding in 2018.
The intimate 45 minute service was held in the Chapel Royal.
Where and when did Lilibet’s baptism take place?
The baptism took place privately last Friday, March 3, at the Sussex family home in Montecito, California.
Are baptisms allowed outside church buildings?
Baptisms and baptisms normally take place in churches, although there is no absolute requirement that they be held there.
The Book of Common Prayer, used by the Church of England and the Episcopal Church, states under the heading ‘private baptism of infants’: ‘The minister of every parish shall warn the people that without great cause and necessity they should not to be baptized in their homes at home. But when necessity compels them, baptism shall be administered in this way.”
In the UK, the Church of England states that ‘unless there are very exceptional circumstances a baptism must always take place in a church, so it is usually not possible to have a baptism at home, in a banquet hall or outdoors’.
Who attended Lilibet’s christening?
People magazine reported that there were between 20 and 30 guests at the event, including Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland and Lilibet’s godfather Tyler Perry.
Royal journalist Omid Scobie, who is close to the Sussexes, reported that ‘King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Kate were invited but did not attend’.
It is not known whether any other members of the royal family were present.
Where was Archie baptized?
Lilibet’s brother, Archie, was baptized in July 2019 by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
What is a Baptism?
A baptism is defined by the Collins dictionary as a “Christian ceremony in which a baby joins the Christian church and is officially given his or her name.”
The Episcopal Church describes a baptism as being, for parents, “a commitment to your faith on behalf of your child.”