Archie: Why isn’t Harry and Meghan’s son a prince?

Who is Archie Harrison?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first child is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

He was born on May 6, 2019, a year after his parents tied the knot.

Archie is not named after any member of the royal family; both Archie and Harrison are recent names that have never been granted to any monarchs or their extended families.

He was christened at Windsor Castle in the royal christening gown and was to be raised at Frogmore Cottage, Windsor, but now resides with his parents in Montecito, California.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that when she was pregnant, there were discussions over her potential child's status, and what title he or she might have.

“They were saying they didn't want him to be a prince or princess, not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol,” she said.

What does royal protocol say?

A letter patent issued by King George V in November 1917 defined the rules on who should be a prince and be addressed as his royal highness (HRH).

Letters patent are legal documents sent by the monarch in the context of an open letter. They may be used for royal announcements or the conferral of titles including peerages.

Except for the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, George V announced in his 1917 letter that the monarch's great-grandchildren would no longer be princes or princesses.

In our present case, this suggests that Prince George, Prince William's eldest child, becomes a prince immediately, but not Archie, despite the fact that they are both great-grandsons of the Queen.

Prince George's daughters, Charlotte and Louis, would not have earned the designation in this protocol.

The Queen, however, released a letter patent in December 2012, stating that all of Prince William's children will be eligible to be princes or princesses and receive the HRH designation.

Furthermore, becoming a prince or princess is only passed down by the male line, so Princess Anne's offspring, despite being the Queen's grandchildren, did not receive those names.

So can Archie be a prince?

Archie has the right to be a prince, but that will take time. According to the 1917 message, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children would have to wait until Prince Charles becomes king, at which point they will become the monarch's grandchildren and thus be eligible for royal titles.

Meghan referenced royal tradition in her interview with Oprah, citing a “George V or George VI convention,” which will imply her son would become a prince if “Harry's dad becomes king.” The duchess, on the other hand, said that the royal family tried to amend the rules when she was pregnant in order to prevent Archie from being a prince.

“They want to change the convention for Archie,” Meghan said, implying that the royal family's concerns could stem from the reality that her son will be the family's “first person of color.”