Why are Archie and Lilibet a prince and princess? details

Although Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal duties in 2020, they have never relinquished their royal titles. That’s right, technically they’re still the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. What was removed was the use of His/Her Royal Highness because the duo are “no longer working members of the royal family,” per a Statement from Buckingham Palace.

Recently some new titles were dropped and they were not awarded to Harry and Meghan. Their children, Archie and Lilibet, will be prince and princess, respectively. How did these titles for the little ones come about? Let’s get into that.

A spokesman for Harry and Meghan told People exclusively, “I can confirm that Princess Lilibet was christened by the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, Rev. John Taylor, on Friday March 3.” Of course, everyone perked up the use of the word “princess” and were curious how it came about.

Apparently, the two titles were essentially activated by the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the succession of Charles as king. Of course, these are only used in “formal situations” and not when the couple is trying to fight their kids at the grocery store, for example. It would be almost impossible to convince a prince and princess not to smuggle more candy into the shopping cart. Another spokesman added: “This matter has been settled in accordance with Buckingham Palace for some time.”

In 1917, King George V, Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, updated the judgment on titles in a Letters Patent. In it he stipulated that “the grandchildren of the sons of such a sovereign in the direct male line (save 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 enjoyed by.” to the children of the dukes of these kingdoms of ours”, via People.

Before the Queen’s death, Archie and Lilibet were great-grandchildren of the Monarch. At that time they bore the titles of Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. Of course, when the queen died and Charles became king, they were grandchildren of the monarch and subject to the Letters patent of 1917. As usual, the royal family has a way of complicating things while making them terribly boring at the same time. What a gift!