This article has been updated since its original publication date to include recent facts
It’s happened – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children have officially been given royal titles! After months of uncertainty, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 21 months, have finally received their Prince and Princess titles, with a Thursday, March 9th update to the official royal website reflecting this.
Their names have now changed from Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor to Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex, respectively. Could this move by King Charles be perceived as an olive branch? Could this therefore influence Prince Harry and Meghan’s decision when it comes to attending the coronation in May? No one knows for sure, but this is a great first step in the right direction!
Although Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet technically received their titles when their grandfather King Charles became monarch, nothing has been declared publicly until now! "The children's titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch," a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told E! News. "This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace."
This update comes just one week after Lilibet’s christening, which was reportedly a small, intimate ceremony that took place at Harry and Meghan's home in Montecito, California. Princess Lilibet Diana was reportedly christened on Friday, March 3rd by the Rev. John Taylor of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, a spokesperson for the couple confirmed on Wednesday, March 8th. E! also reported that King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton were all reportedly invited to the christening but did not attend.
Prince William And Kate Middleton Officially Become Prince And Princess Of Wales
Prince William and Kate Middleton are now *officially* known as the Prince and Princess of Wales! Although the titles were announced by King Charles III back in September 2022, one day after the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II, they had not been made official until February 2023.
An official announcement about Prince William‘s titles was made in The Gazette, the country’s official public record, reading: "In accordance with the direction of HIS MAJESTY THE KING Letters Patent have passed the Great Seal of the Realm, dated the 13th February 2023 for creating His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cornwall Rothesay and Cambridge, Earl of Carrick and Strathearn, Baron of Renfrew, Baron Carrickfergus, K.G., K.T., Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, PRINCE OF WALES and EARL OF CHESTER."
According to the Royal Collection Trust, the Letters of Patent are "an open document from the Sovereign, which can be used to express the Sovereign’s will, for example to confer an office or create a new peerage."
King Charles First Revealed New Royal Family Titles Following Official Period Of Mourning
At the end of September 2022, King Charles officially revealed the new titles of some of the members of the royal family when the official period of mourning for the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died "peacefully" at Balmoral Castle on September 8th aged 96, was over.
The official royal family social media accounts on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook acknowledged the family's new roles and titles by changing their handles and pictures to reflect the updates. The new pictures of the official royal family accounts, for example, were changed to a picture of King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, staring into the distance. The picture was taken at the Balmoral War Memorial in Scotland in May 2020, on the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
The new King and Queen Consort weren’t the only members of the royal family to receive social media updates, as Prince William and Kate Middleton's social media accounts changed too! The @DukeandDuchessofCambridge Instagram account, for example, changed to the @PrinceandPrincessofWales to reflect their new Prince and Princess of Wales titles.They will officially be known as both the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, and the Prince and Princess of Wales. Their profile picture is the same one which was used on their Duke and Duchess of Cambridge accounts, and shows them laughing together on the cliffs of Ireland.
The period of Royal Mourning following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has now ended. This account will continue to reflect the work of The King, The Queen Consort and other members of The Royal Family, as well as remembering the life and work of Queen Elizabeth. pic.twitter.com/BKx9wUtRF8
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 27, 2022
The official royal family Twitter page (@RoyalFamily) acknowledged the end of the official mourning period and the new era. Sharing a picture of the late Queen Elizabeth II, the Twitter account wrote: "The period of Royal Mourning following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has now ended."
"This account will continue to reflect the work of The King, The Queen Consort and other members of The Royal Family, as well as remembering the life and work of Queen Elizabeth," it added.
Duke And Duchess Of Sussex Snubbed
Back in September 2022, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were snubbed by seemingly being demoted – at least as far as the royal family website is concerned! Their position on the 'Members of the Royal Family' section on the official website moved from below Prince Edward, his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Princess Anne, where they were moved following Megxit, to the very bottom of the page.
They now sit below some of the 'minor' royals, including the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra, and just above Prince Harry's disgraced uncle Prince Andrew, who is the last royal to feature on the page. Wow! At least their children's names have now been updated with their new titles, which we hope they will see as a small victory!
King Charles Issued More Royal Titles At The End Of 2022
King Charles gave Kate Middleton, 41, yet another royal title at the end of last year, as he also named his daughter-in-law the new honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards, a title that previously belonged to her husband Prince William. The title was given to Prince William in 2011 by the late Queen Elizabeth II just two months before the royal wedding, which is why he wore the traditional red Irish Guards officer uniform for the ceremony in Westminster Abbey.
Now that she has this title, the Princess of Wales' duty will see her and her husband traveling to Aldershot in Hampshire, England to take part in its annual parade alongside the Irish Guard, where they will also salute the regiment, pass out shamrock boutonniéres, meet with the regiment’s mascot (an Irish wolfhound named Seamus) and celebrate with a Guinness toast.
The new Prince of Wales, 40, was also given the Colonel of the Welsh Guards title which was previously held by his father, King Charles, for the last 47 years. And Queen Consort Camilla also received another title at the end of last year, as she was appointed the new Colonel of the Grenadier Guards – a title previously held by Prince Andrew which he has since been stripped of due to the sexual assault allegations against him by Virginia Giuffre and controversial friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
As part of the same announcement, King Charles also revealed the date for the Trooping the Color parade, which will mark the first public celebration of the new monarch’s birthday. Although King Charles' birthday is actually on November 14th, the date of the parade has been set to June 17th, 2023 to take advantage of the weather during the British summer. The late Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday was April 21st, but the Trooping the Color parade was planned in June for the same weather-related reason, so it's not surprising to see the new monarch stick with this tradition. This tradition of the monarch having two birthdays to coincide with the Trooping the Color parade dates as far back as the 1700's, if you can believe it, with King George II being the first monarch to do so.
What About Prince Harry And Meghan Markle's Titles?
While there is no longer uncertainty surrounding their children's titles, the same can't be said for Prince Harry and Meghan, as their titles still have a giant metaphorical question mark next to them. Many critics believe that they shouldn’t be given any new titles and should even have their existing Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles taken away following their controversial Netflix Harry & Meghan docuseries that came out last year, and Prince Harry's bombshell memoir Spare which hit shelves on January 10th this year, while others don't think that that's the best option, as it could thrust them even more into the spotlight, which is reportedly *not* something the royal family would want.
