This is the title Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s royal baby may take
Royal couple break tradition once again
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Your support makes all the difference.On Monday 6 May, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed the arrival of a son.
The baby boy, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, is seventh in line to the throne, and Queen Elizabeth II's eight great-grandchild.
Following the child's birth and debut to the world, many royal fans questioned whether he would obtain a royal title.
On 17 May, Buckingham Palace released the baby’s birth certificate which revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appear not to have given their child a royal title.
A close look at the document and you can see that contrary to his father’s official firstname and surname – His Royal Highness Henry Charles David Duke of Sussex – Archie Harrison’s appears without any notion of earldom or dukedom.
Whether or not the royal couple want their son to have a royal title in future, similar to those of his first cousins Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte, the Sussex's son won't receive a royal title unless granted one by the Queen.
In 1917, King George V passed a Letters Patent, which stated that "...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 only enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes of these Our Realms".
This means that Prince Harry and Meghan's son will likely not become a prince or known as "His Royal Highness", and may instead be known as Lord (forename) Mountbatten-Windsor.
The royal couple may choose to forego a title for their son altogether, in which case he may be known as Master (first name) Mountbatten-Windsor.
However, the Queen could issue a new Letters Patent to change this, as she did for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's children.
In December 2012, the Queen issued a Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm declaring “all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of royal highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour”.
This explains why Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis all have HRH titles.
Another title that the Sussex's baby may receive bears links with an ancient Scottish kingdom.
On the day of the royal wedding in May 2018, one of the subsidiary titles Prince Harry was bestowed by the Queen was Earl of Dumbarton.
As the son of a duke, the baby is entitled to be known as this title.
Before Prince Harry was granted the title by his grandmother, it had not been used for more than 260 years.
The town of Dumbarton in Scotland, founded in the fifth century, was once the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Strathclyde.
According to Historic Environment Scotland, Dumbarton Castle in the region was a "mighty stronghold in the Dark Ages".
Legend dictates that the fort was visited by the wizard Merlin, from Arthurian legend, in the sixth century.
For all the latest news on the royal baby, visit The Independent's live blog here.
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