A recent poll among Americans shows support for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's desire to have their children, Archie and Lilibet, bestowed with royal titles. The survey, conducted by Redfield & Wilton for Newsweek, found that 53% of Americans believe the children should hold the HRH Prince and HRH Princess titles, while 15% disagreed, 18% were indifferent, and 14% were unsure.
The issue of royal titles for Archie and Lilibet has been a subject of debate among royal experts since Meghan Markle revealed in her Oprah interview in March 2021 that there were discussions within the royal family about her children not receiving royal titles. She referred to these titles as their "birthright" and linked it to conversations about the potential skin color of her children.
Meghan stated during the interview, "It's not our decision to make, right? Even though I have a lot of clarity on what comes with the titles, good and bad-and from my experience, a lot of pain. I, again, wouldn't wish pain on my child, but that is their birthright to then make a choice about."
The Duchess of Sussex also expressed concern for the safety of her children without royal titles. She mentioned the George V convention, which states that the grandchild of the monarch automatically inherits the HRH Prince or Princess designation. When King Charles III ascended to the throne following Queen Elizabeth II's death in September, Archie and Lilibet were eligible for the HRH Prince and HRH Princess titles.
Despite this, their titles were not immediately updated on the royal family's official website, where they were still listed as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
In his first speech as the new monarch, King Charles III announced that Prince William and Kate Middleton would become Prince and Princess of Wales. However, it wasn't until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle referred to Lilibet as Princess in their baptism announcement that Buckingham Palace updated their titles online, without any public announcement.
The baptismal announcement read, "I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev. John Taylor."
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that the title change was agreed upon privately after Queen Elizabeth's funeral. The couple chose to keep this information to themselves, waiting six months to use it publicly in Lilibet's christening announcement.
The representative explained, "The children's titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became Monarch. This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace."
By remaining silent on the issue, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have allowed the debate over their children's royal titles to continue. Royal expert Ingrid Seward suggested that the couple may have waited for Buckingham Palace to announce the changes, as was done when Prince Edward received the Duke of Edinburgh title on his birthday.
Seward speculated that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "were hoping the Palace would jump the gun and announce it before they did." However, "Buckingham Palace left its website intact and allowed the Sussexes to make the move themselves so they couldn't complain."
This recent poll demonstrates that a majority of Americans support the idea of royal titles for Archie and Lilibet, indicating that public opinion may be on the side of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in this ongoing debate.
