We now know Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new baby's official name and royal title. World, meet Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor! Though the baby is seventh in line for the throne, he will not be known as His Royal Highness, or Prince. According to People, Meghan and Prince Harry declined to give Archie what is known as a "courtesy title." Archie's cousins, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, have such titles.
It's possible that Archie will receive a title at some point in the future. His parents are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Archie may receive a secondary Sussex title, before ultimately inheriting the dukedom.
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Until then, this lack of courtesy title just proves Archie is a very modern royal baby.
This article was originally published on May 6, 2019.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's baby boy, who came bouncing into the world early Monday morning, will automatically have the prestigious title of...Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's baby. But when it comes to its royal title, things can be complicated. Harry and Meghan took on the roles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they tied the knot last year but, now that the bun is officially out of the oven, the rules put in place by Queen Elizabeth in the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act will dictate whether or not their baby gets the prince honorific.
It's these same rules that automatically gave Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis their titles because they're children of a direct heir to the throne: Prince William. Prince Harry, however, is sixth in line to the throne — after all of William's children. Basically, Harry's reign is super unlikely, making his offspring's even less so and thus titles are not automatically guaranteed.
In short: it's up to the Queen to decide whether or not she'd like to give a royal title to the children, and Express is reporting that it probably won't happen. We can assume this is not a slight against the couple, but a decision made out of respect to Meghan and Harry's lifestyle. They've been big fans of breaking royal tradition, and Prince Harry told Newsweek in 2107 that he wanted his children to live a normal life after going through a tumultuous upbringing of his own.
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"We don’t want to be just a bunch of celebrities but instead use our role for good," he said.
As Prince Harry told the press in his first interview after the birth, the baby's name is still up in the air. We do know, however, that "this little thing is absolutely to die for."