Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
QUEEN Elizabeth II’s passing impacted the royal lineage.
As such, a number of key royal figures will be assigned a new title, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s two children.
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Lilibet Diana is set to become a princess as per royal protocol after King George V laid down the rules about who can and cannot be a princess in 1917.
He declared that great-grandchildren of the monarch will not automatically be a prince or princess other than the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.
A Letters Patent issued by King George in 1917 read: “…the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of these our realms.”
Prince William is the eldest son of King Charles III. It means that his and Kate’s eldest son was automatically assigned the title of Prince George.
But as a great grandchild of late Queen Elizabeth II, and from the Prince of Wales’ younger son, Lilibet Diana was not a princess at birth.
As Prince Harry is not the next future king of England, Archie and Lilibet were ranked as the same level of status within the family as the children of Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips.
At first, it was only going to be Prince George who was to be given the title of Prince, as he has a direct line of succession to the throne.
But before he was born, Queen Elizabeth II stepped in and issued a Letters Patent to ensure all Kate and William’s children would have fitting titles – otherwise Princess Charlotte would have been a Lady and Prince Louis a Lord.
But after the Queen sadly passed away on September 8, 2022, Lilibet’s grandfather is now the King and all the rules change again.
Lilibet is now seventh in line to the throne, coming after her brother Archie who is sixth.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s kids, Archie and Lilibet did not hold any titles at birth.
After King Charles acceded to the throne, they will now officially be a Prince and Princess under the rules established in 1917.
Being in the royal line of succession does not guarantee a royal title but they have assumed titles now the Queen has passed away.
Meghan told Oprah Winfrey the Royal Family did not want their first child to be a prince.
She told Oprah: “They were saying they didn’t want him to be a prince or princess, not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol.”
Some commentators cast doubt on these claims because of the protocol dictating that the monarch’s great grandchildren are not automatically given titles.
And Meghan did mention the protocol in the famed interview – showing that she was aware of it.
She referenced a “George V or George VI convention” and said it meant Archie would become a prince “when Harry’s dad becomes king”.
Despite being named as Prince and Princess in the near future, Prince Harry and Meghan’s children will not be referred to as HRH (his/her royal highness).
They are not expected to have HRH status as they will not be working royals.
When Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties, they stopped using HRH titles.
Buckingham Palace released a statement at the time which read:
“While they can no longer formally represent The Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty. The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.”