Following the death of the Queen on Thursday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children are now entitled to their royal titles. Their son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, is now technically a prince while his younger sister, Lilibet “Lili” Mountbatten-Windsor, is entitled to be a princess.
The new titles come courtesy of protocols established by King George V in 1917. Those rules state that any child or grandchild of a sovereign automatically has the right to the title HRH and prince or princess.
Both three-year-old Archie and 15-month-old Lili were the great-grandchild of a sovereign at the time of their births, hence the lack of titles to this point. The Queen’s death on September 8 led to the accession of the Prince of Wales, to King Charles III, who is Archie and Lili’s grandfather.
Read more: Royal Mint CEO issues statement of condolence for Queen Elizabeth II
As the youngsters are now children of a son of a sovereign, they both qualify for their respective titles of prince and princess. However, whether they wish to use their titles is another story, after their mother revealed there being displeasure in the palace over the idea of Archie being made a prince.
Although, in the interview with Oprah Winfrey, she added "If it meant he was going to be safe, then, of course," when asked if she’d be like Archie to have a royal title. After the Queen’s death, Prince Harry is now fifth in line to the throne with Archie placed sixth and Lili seventh.
The only exception to the 1917 rule is the eldest son of the sovereign's eldest son, which allowed Prince William’s eldest to be known as Prince George even before the Queen’s death. However, the Queen actually changed this rule in 2012 which allowed any children of the Prince of Wales’ eldest son to receive their royal titles immediately, permitting his younger children to be called Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis while Her Majesty was still alive.
READ NEXT:
- The title 'Prince of Wales' should disappear, says senior Welsh politician
- The best pictures from all the times the Queen has visited Wales
- The Queen paid a glowing tribute to the people of Wales as she formally opened the Senedd
- Where the Queen went to school and what she studied
- Why is Prince Phillip's will a secret?
