Despite an ever-widening rift with the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children are now officially a prince and princess — titles their mother bitterly suggested had been withheld due to race.
The titles emerged on Wednesday when a spokesman for the exiled royal confirmed on Friday “Princess Lilibet Diana was baptized” in California, without her royal relatives having flown in from the UK.
Buckingham Palace confirmed that Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie’s titles are official and will be updated later on the Royal Family’s website, where they were still “master” and “miss” on Wednesday.
Despite being used for the first time on Wednesday, the young royals were officially free to use them once their grandfather, King Charles III, took the throne in September following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The palace waited for Harry and Meghan to take charge by using the titles first, sources told The Times of London.
It comes despite the deepening rift between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Harry’s family, leaving it unclear if they’ll even attend his father Charles’ coronation as king.
Markle had used the lack of a ‘prince’ title for Archie – who turns 4 in May – to make some of her most explosive attacks against the royal family in its initial interview with Oprah Winfrey.
When asked if the lack of a title – and the security that comes with it – was “because of his race”, Markle seemed to agree.
“At around the same time, we’re having the conversation of, ‘He’s not getting security, he’s not getting a title,’ as well as concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” the former actress, whose mother is black, replied. is.
However, royal experts soon pointed this out Archie had been too far down the line of succession to get the title, which changed as they moved up the ranks when their grandfather became king.
Archie is sixth in line to the throne, one place ahead of his sister, who will turn two in June.
Despite being prince and princess now, neither are His or Her Royal Highness or HRH, according to the UK Times.
“The use of the HRH style would have come through their father and the Duke of Sussex’s HRH has been suspended,” a palace source told the British newspaper of the decision after he retired from life as a senior royal.
Lilibet was baptized by Los Angeles Archbishop Reverend John Taylor in a “small and intimate ceremony” at the family home in posh Montecito, California, according to People magazine.
Guests have included stars like Tyler Perry, who is Lilibet’s godfather, but not Harry’s father, Charles, mother-in-law Queen Camilla or brother, Prince William.
The royals were all invited but did not attend, a source told People.
With post threads
