When Harry and Meghan’s children are made prince and princess by King Charles III, they won’t be given HRH rank.
As Charles has agreed to issue a Letters Patent to grant the titles, Archie, age three, and Lilibet, age one, are anticipated to be formally named prince and princess in the near future.
The Sussexes, however, have been left “furious” that their children would not also receive HRH titles after recent difficult discussions between the new King and the royal family.
Harry and Meghan are rumoured to have said that the daughters of Prince Andrew, Beatrice and Eugenie, despite not being employed by the royal family, have HRH status.
A source said:
‘Harry and Meghan were worried about the security issue and being prince and princess brings them the right to have certain levels of royal security.
‘There have been a lot of talks over the past week. They have been insistent that Archie and Lilibet are prince and princess.
‘They have been relentless since the Queen died. But they have been left furious that Archie and Lilibet cannot take the title HRH.
‘That is the agreement — they can be prince and princess but not HRH because they are not working royals.’
According to regulations established by King George V in 1917, which restricted the number of royals using HRH, Archie and Lilibet are eligible to use the titles after the passing of the Queen.
The HRH title, according to Meghan, was previously withheld from Archie due to his race.
When asked if Meghan thought it was “essential” that Archie be referred to as a prince, she responded that she didn’t care about the “grandeur” of titles.
After leaving their positions as senior working royals to live in Los Angeles, the Sussexes ceased using their own HRH styles, and there were later calls for the removal of their duke and duchess titles.
King George V issued fresh letters patent in 1917 that placed a cap on the number of members of the royal family who could use the title “HRH.”
According to the rules of the Queen’s great-grandfather, ‘the children of any Sovereign of these Realms and the children of the sons of any such Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales shall have and at all times hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour’.
Archie was too far down the line of succession when he was born seventh in line to the throne in May 2019.
He wasn’t automatically a prince because he wasn’t the first-born son of a future king, despite being the monarch’s great-grandson.
After honouring Queen Elizabeth II for her poignant lying in state service at Westminster Hall on Wednesday, Prince Harry appeared overtaken with emotion.
Pictures of the Duke of Sussex during the emotional moment when the late monarch’s coffin was placed in the hall show him holding his head in his palm, squinting his eyes, and looking down.
He is standing close to the Duchess of Sussex, who is looking down and sporting a sombre expression, and is donning a suit that is embellished with medals.
Together with their wives Meghan and Kate, Prince Harry and Prince William set aside their acrimonious rivalry to pay their respects to their grandmother.
The Sussex family took a back row position behind the other royals, with Harry standing behind William and Meghan behind Kate.
The heartwarming scene is the first time the spouses have been photographed together since their unexpected walkabout at Windsor Castle on Saturday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex departed the building hand in hand, as the Princess of Wales comforted her husband by stroking his arm.