Since stepping back from their senior royal roles in 2020, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have not held back from criticising the Firm as they have made a number of shocking claims. Just a year after they left royal life behind, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a bombshell interview.

It was in this interview that Meghan, 43, claimed that Archie had a birthright to be a prince. She said: “[The] idea of the first member of colour in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be… It’s not their right to take it away.”

However, the Duchess’ comment in the interview was not correct.

As reported by The Daily Mail, Prince Archie, who is now six, did not have a birthright to be a prince at first until his grandfather, King Charles, acceeded to the throne in 2022.

The reason for this dates back more than 100 years when King George V issued a Letters Patent in 1917 which declared that only the monarch’s children, male-line grandchildren and the eldest son of the Prince of Wales could be granted a princely title.

The Letters Patent 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.”

Under these rules, only Prince William and Princess Kate’s eldest son Prince George was originally entitled to be a prince when Queen Elizabeth II was still alive.

However, the late Queen stepped in ahead of George’s birth in 2013 to issue a new Letters Patent which ensured all George’s future siblings would also have fitting titles as children of a future monarch.

As a result, when Princess Charlotte arrived in 2015 and Prince Louis was born in 2018, they were immediately a Princess and a Prince, rather than having to wait until their grandfather came to the throne.

Under the rules laid out by King George V, Archie and Lilibet could have been referred to as prince and princess ever since Charles succeeded in 2022, however, it was only announced by Harry and Meghan that they did not wish to deny their children their “birthright” when they issued a statement in 2023.

Although they hold these royal titles, the children are being brought up in America, where Prince Harry and Meghan relocated after quitting royal life in 2020. It is believed they have only met their royal relatives a handful of times, having last visited the UK in 2022.