Why does Archie, the son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, not have the title of prince?
FAKE OFF In the interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle denounced a difference in treatment. She challenged protocol and racism
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis… Why not Prince Archie? In her hour-and-a-half-hour interview broadcast in France on Monday evening, Meghan Markle lamented the treatment of her son by the British crown. Archie, although great-grandson of the queen and grandson of Prince Charles, the direct heir to the throne, does not have the title of "prince", unlike his three cousins, children of Kate and William.
When he was born in May 2019, this had been interpreted as a will of his parents, eager to modernize the monarchy. Faced with Oprah Winfrey, the queen of American television, Meghan Markle put forward a completely different version.
The Duchess of Sussex explained that the British crown had denied Archie the title on the grounds that his parents had not wanted to know his gender until he was born: “In private, it was known that I was pregnant. We now know that it's Archie and that he's a boy, we didn't know that back then […]. And that's when they said they didn't want him to be a prince or a princess, since we didn't know what his gender was, which would be a breach of protocol, and he didn't would receive no protection. "
Meghan Markle explained that she was not attached to the "greatness" around the title, but felt it important if it meant that her son would receive police protection. The former actress also hinted that her son's skin color played a role in the decision not to give him the title of prince.
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Archie is not the only great-grandchild of the Queen who does not bear a title: the grandchildren of Princess Anne and Prince Andrew, two of the Queen's four children, do not.
What does tradition say? The Guardian reports that just over a century ago, in 1917, King George V clarified that the title of prince was reserved for the sovereign's male grandchildren. Archie can therefore become a prince when Charles is crowned king. Meghan Markle has hinted, however, that this may not be the case. “During my pregnancy, they wanted to change the convention for Archie,” she replied to Oprah Winfrey. The British press presents Prince Charles as a supporter of a tight monarchy.
In 2012, the Queen extended the title of prince and princess to all future children of Kate and William. A gesture that she could have made for Archie but that she did not repeat.
Archie is entitled to a title of duke
Kate and William's three children are in front of their uncle Harry and his son Archie in order of succession. Town & Country magazine specifies that Archie could have claimed the title of Duke inherited from his father.
The attribution of titles is a sensitive subject within the royal family. After her divorce, Diana, who was therefore no longer the future queen, lost the right to be called "her royal highness", and was known as Diana, Princess of Wales. Princess Anne, the Queen's only daughter, has chosen not to give her two children a title.
The royal family has changed their names in the past
Would Archie have been entitled to police protection with a title? Not all members of the royal family have security. Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, daughters of Prince Andrew, would not have one, according to the English press. The protection of Harry and Meghan is another long-standing bone of contention between Buckingham Palace and the couple.
And, by the way, why does Archie have Mountbatten-Windsor as a last name? It is the surname of all descendants of the queen. Mountbatten is the surname of Prince Philipp, husband of Elizabeth II. The name Windsor was adopted by the royal family in 1917, during World War I, to replace the old name of the dynasty, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, then associated with Germany.
