Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, now have royal titles despite the couple’s exit from the British royal family.
Until now, it was unclear if Harry and Markle wanted their children to be referred to as prince and princess.
The announcement came on Wednesday after the christening of Princess Lilibet in California, where the Sussexes live now that they are no longer working members of the royal family.
Lilibet was refered to as a princess for the first time while announcing the 21-month-old’s recent christening.
‘I can confirm that Princess Lilibet was christened on Friday, March 3, by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev. John Taylor,’ the spokesperson said in a statement.
The royal family’s official website also plans to update the siblings’ titles from Master Archie and Miss Lilibet to Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, per People.
Though the titles will be used in formal settings and not in everyday use.
Under a 1917 rule, Archie Harrison and Lilibet Diana were afforded the titles of prince and princess when their grandfather King Charles became monarch.
‘The children’s titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch,’ a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told PEOPLE.
‘This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace.’
Archie, 3, and Lilibet became a prince and a princess when their grandfather King Charles III took over the throne upon Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September 2022, thanks to a rule established by King George V in 1917.
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,’ George stated in the Letters Patent.
Archie and Lilibet did not receive the titles when they were born because they were the great-grandchildren of the Queen.
However, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three kids, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4, all got titles upon birth because William is Charles’ eldest son.
Their prince and princess titles are not yet reflected on the royal family’s official website, but the palace will update the website to reflect the children’s titles.
