Birth of Lilibet: what titles will Meghan and Harry's daughter have?
The daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle uttered her first cry this Friday, June 4. But will Lili carry a royal title?
The Sussexes waited to break the good news. This Sunday, June 6, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry revealed the birth of their second child, two days earlier. It is in a hospital in Santa Barbara that the Duchess gave birth to Lilibet "Lili" Diana, a beautiful baby weighing 3.5 kilos who is doing wonderfully. As was the case with her older brother, Archie, the little girl shouldn't wear a royal title. Because unlike his cousins, George, Charlotte and Louis, the son of the Sussexes is not a prince.
During her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle denied having refused her eldest child to have one and claimed that the Crown had denied her this right. "In private, we knew I was pregnant. (...) And that's when they said they didn't want him to be a prince or a princess, since we didn't know which was his type, which would be a breach of protocol, and that he would not receive any protection, "she confided.
As a reminder, British tradition wants the title of prince or princess to be reserved for the grandchildren of the sovereign in place. Since Archie and therefore Lili are the great-grandchildren of Elizabeth II, so they cannot obtain these titles, but could when Prince Charles becomes king. Also during this interview, Meghan Markle hinted that this might not be the case. "During my pregnancy, they wanted to change the convention for Archie", assured the Duchess.
Theoretically, "as a child of the Duke of Sussex, the new baby will normally have the title Lady," said Carolyn Harris, author of Raising Royalty and royal historian. Like Archie, called Mister, Lili should therefore become Miss Lilibeth Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. And according to specialists, the children of the Sussexes will never wear titles.
