In the Sunday night bomb interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, said the royal family had decided not to award him any title son Archie. He said he was never given any reason why “the first member of the color of this family [was] it’s not titled the same way other grandchildren would, ”and he said yes conversations about the same time about the “dark” that would be Archie’s skin.
Meghan cited a “convention” that the monarch’s grandchildren call themselves prince or princess. According to the protocol established by King George V in 1917, the children and grandchildren of a sovereign have the automatic right to the title HRH, or His Royal Highness, and to the title of prince or princess. This extension does not apply to the great-grandchildren of a monarch, although Queen Elizabeth made an exception by giving the titles to William’s children because they are directly in the line of succession.
When Archie, Harry and Meghan were born announced his name such as Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, a surname used by the royal family. But, as Meghan pointed out in the interview, Archie and the girl waiting this summer she would have the right to become a prince and princess when Harry’s father, Prince Charles, becomes king.
“Even with this convention I’m talking about, while I was pregnant, they said they wanted to change the convention for Archie. So why?” Meghan said. He said they never gave him an answer.
Although Charles has never spoken specifically about the titles of Harry and Archie, the Daily Mail reported in 2019 that Charles wanted to reduce the number of family members with royal titles, especially as a result of the scandal by Prince Andrew connection with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn also said in 2019 that there is “the issue of family size and everything they do, but I think the general public would like to see this kind of change and the debate around behavior of Prince Andrew has actually put this in the foreground. “
But then it was reported that Charles wanted to keep titles for his children, his wives and children. In the line of succession after Queen Elizabeth II, Charles is the first, William is the second, and the sons of William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, are the third, fourth, and fifth. William’s younger brother, Harry, is now sixth on the throne, Archie is seventh and Harry and Meghan’s baby girl will be eighth.
Apart from William’s three children, Queen Elizabeth’s other great-grandchildren have no titles, although it is unclear whether it is by choice. For example, Princess Anne and her ex-husband chose not to give titles to their children, and none of Anne’s grandchildren have titles either.
When Harry’s parents divorced, his mother Diana lost the proper use of HRH and was given the courtesy title of Diana, Princess of Wales. When Harry and Meghan split from the royal family – after Archie’s birth – they agreed to withdraw HRH from their titles as well. But Harry remains a prince and the couple also retain the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Meghan told Oprah that Archie’s title was not “the decision to take” from her or Harry, but “this is her birthright to decide later.”
Meghan said the conversation they had with palace officials about the level of security they would receive was also related to whether or not Archie would be a prince. He said he really cared about security protection, not royal status.
“All the grandeur that surrounds these things is an attachment that I don’t personally have,” he said. “I’ve been a waitress, an actress, a princess, a duchess, I’ve always been Meghan. So for me I’m clear who I’m independent of this stuff and the most important title I’ll ever have is Mom. that our son is not safe and also the idea that the first colored member of this family will not be titled in the same way that the other grandchildren would. ”
Meghan said they were not asked to take the traditional photo of the front of the hospital after Archie was born because he would not be a prince.
Around the same time, when she was still pregnant, she said there were also conversations in the royal family about the “darkness” of Archie’s skin.
“During the months she was pregnant, almost at the same time, so we kept in tandem the conversation that she wouldn’t be given security, that she wouldn’t be given any title, and also worries and conversations about the darkness of her skin could be when you are born, ”Meghan said.
“What?” Oprah asked. “Who’s having this conversation with you? What?”
“There were several conversations,” Meghan said, specifying, “with Harry.”
Meghan would not say who was the one who held the conversation, noting that “it would be very detrimental to them.” He said it was passed on to him by Harry.
“It was very difficult to see them as compartmentalized conversations,” he said.
Harry said it wasn’t a conversation he ever wanted to talk about. Oprah said she later clarified that yes not his grandmother or his grandfather who made the comment.
In addition to Queen Elizabeth making a special dispensation for William’s children, over the years there have been other changes in protocol involving titles and even the line of succession. For example, in 2013, Queen Elizabeth amended the Crown Succession Act to end the male birthright system, in which a young son took precedence over an older daughter. Because of this change. Princess Charlotte remains the fourth in line to the throne, instead of being moved by her younger brother.