Prince Harry and Meghan's Children Will Use Royal Titles

Despite the recent tension between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the rest of the Royal Family, new developments reveal their children, Archie and Lilibet, will continue to use their official royal titles, Prince and Princess.

The titles were officially listed on the Royal Family’s website and were used for the first time when the couple announced their daughter’s christening earlier this week. Princess Lilibet was baptized by the Archbishop of Los Angeles last Friday, a spokesperson for the couple said.

People reported that while Harry and Meghan invited members of the royal family, none were in attendance. Reportedly around 20-30 people gathered for the event, including Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, Lilibet’s godfather, Tyler Perry and an unnamed godmother.

The rules governing the titles of royal children were established in 1917 by King George V, and they state that only the children and grandchildren of the monarch are entitled to the titles of prince and princess. Archie and Lilibet were not given these titles at birth because they were not grandchildren of the monarch. However, they gained the right to these titles when Prince Harry’s father King Charles III, ascended to the throne earlier this year.

According to a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan, the matter of the children’s titles has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace. The children’s birthright entitles them to the titles of Prince and Princess, and they will continue to use them despite any recent tensions caused by Prince Harry’s memoir The Spare. As sixth and seventh in line to the throne, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet of Sussex will likely continue to be watched closely as they grow older with the Royal Family.

A Behind The Scenes Look at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Family Life

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle take viewers behind the scenes and share intimate moments of their family life in the new Netflix docuseries Meghan & Harry. Although the documentary primarily focuses on the royal family and the mistreatment by the British media, little Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, 3, and Lilibet Diana, 1, sprinkle in sunshine throughout.

In an opening scene, we hear the voice of Archie as he admires a “beautiful” sunset. Elsewhere, he makes his onscreen debut while enjoying snowfall and spends additional time bird-watching with dad. There’s even a candid moment of a sleeping Archie resting on Markle’s stomach while she’s pregnant with Lilibet. Later on, we also learn that Archie’s favorite song is Benny And The Jets* by Elton John.

Perhaps one of the most heartfelt moments though comes as Markle shows baby Archie a portrait of Princess Diana hanging on the wall, to which Archie responds, “Who’s that?” “That’s your grandma Diana,” Markle answers.

Alongside the adorable footage of Archie and Lilibet, Markle and Prince Harry don’t hesitate to say why they prefer to keep their children out of the public eye. “What’s most important for the two of us is to make sure that we don’t repeat the same mistakes that perhaps our parents made,” Harry said. “We’ve been really conscious of protecting our kids as best we can,” Meghan added, “and also understanding the role that they play in this really historical family.”

Both Meghan and Prince Harry reflect on the ever-pervasive media intrusion in their lives—with Prince Harry talking about how he constantly felt forced to put on a show for the media. “As a dad, and as parents, I think consent is a really key piece to this,” Harry says in the documentary. “That if you have children, it should be your consent as to what you share.”

The couple who welcomed Lilibet just a little over a year after formally leaving the royal family have been somewhat close-lipped on why they departed. Over the past few months, many have surmised that racist behavior on the part of the royal family and media harassment had a large part to do with their public split. The new documentary seeks to answer some of these questions and give the Duke and Duchess a chance to control the narrative and tell their side of the story.

Volume 1 of Meghan & Harry is now streaming on Netflix. Volume 2 will be released on December 15.