Harry and Meghan yet to confirm if Archie and Lili will use new titles
The King’s spokesman said the focus is on the next 10 days ahead of the Queen’s funeral instead
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children Archie and Lilibet are yet to be named prince and princess on the royal website because it has not been confirmed if they will use the new titles.
While Prince William’s title in the line of succession as the Prince of Wales has been swiftly added with his children now listed as “of Wales”, Archie and Lili’s had not changed on Saturday.
They are technically now a prince and a princess because their grandfather has become King, but it has not been confirmed by their parents or Buckingham Palace whether they will use the titles.
The King’s spokesman said the monarch had announced William and Kate’s titles as the Prince and Princess of Wales, and expressed his love for Harry and Meghan in his address to the nation on Friday.
“While the website was updated for the Waleses, clearly updating love on a website doesn’t quite work so we’ve not quite done with that but clearly he does love them. We will be working through updating the website as and when we get information,” he said on Saturday.
Asked whether Archie and Lili would take the titles of prince and princess, he said: “At the moment, we’re focused on the next 10 days and as and when we get information, we will update that website.”
In 2021, it was suggested Charles – in a bid to limit the number of key royals – intended, when he became monarch, to prevent Archie becoming a prince, but it is unlikely he would make such a move which would be considered greatly damaging to his relationship with the Sussexes.
To do so, he would have to issue a Letters Patent amending Archie’s right to be a prince and Lili’s right to be a princess.
Archie and Lili technically remain at present a prince and princess with the style HRH, whether their parents choose to use the titles or not on a day-to-day basis.
Meghan argued in the Sussexes’ bombshell interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey that Archie was not given the title of prince because of his race.
However, when Archie was born seventh in line to the throne in May 2019, he was too far down the line of succession.
Although he was a great-grandchild of the monarch, he was not the first-born son of a future king, so was not automatically a prince.
The Sussexes joined the Waleses for a walkabout on Saturday to meet well-wishers and view floral tributes outside Windsor Castle – the first time they have been pictured side by side since 2020.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.