Why Meghan Markle and Harry deprived their son Archie of the title of Earl of Dumbarton
This is a scoop that is not, as we already assumed in a previous article. Nevertheless, this time around, a source close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has just confirmed the reason why Archie Mountbaten-Windsor does not use his title of courtesy, that of Earl of Dumbarton.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle didn't like the sound of their son's title
This article is not intended to be controversial but to remind or teach some uninitiated how the transmission of a title of nobility, called peerage in the United Kingdom works. According to The Telegraph, which managed to obtain information from someone close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, they would have preferred their son Archie not to use his title, that of Earl of Dumbarton, because of its consonance.
Dumbarton begins with "dumb", which means "idiot" or "asshole" in English. “They didn't like the idea of Archie being called Earl of Dumbarton because it started with the word 'dumb',” the source explains. Another relative said: "It wasn't just Meghan who pointed out the potential problems, it bothered Harry as well." The Duke and Duchess of Sussex would therefore have simply been afraid that the child would be teased at school.
It is true that usage also allows the title of nobility to be used as a surname. This is often the case in the press to avoid repetition in an article. For example, David Armstrong-Jones, the son of Princess Margaret has long carried the title of Viscount Linley, and he was simply referred to as David Linley. He was also called Lord Linley. Since the death of his father, he has carried his main title, that of Earl of Snowdon. He is then called either Lord Snowdon, David Snowdon, or by his full name. And since he bore the title of Viscount Linley, the press sometimes even continues to refer to him as David Linley out of habit so as not to confuse the reader. So one could imagine that Archie is often simplified into Archie Dumbarton, which is not the most flattering. Especially since Prince Harry is young and Archie may wait a long time to inherit the title of Duke from his father. What earned him many gibes for many years.
Imbroglio around the title of prince
The question of Archie’s title is now a source of contention, given the strained relationship between the Sussexes and the Windsors, and that inaccuracies or vague claims by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are causing confusion. Meghan Markle accused the royal family of depriving her son of a title.
First of all, let's remember that there is a difference between the title of prince, which should rather be seen as a "quality" rather than a title of nobility. In the UK, only members of the royal family can be princes, and the rule for awarding the title is totally different from that for "classic" titles of nobility.
Regarding the deprivation of the quality of prince: remember that Archie cannot be a prince, being the great-grandson of the Queen, but only children and grandchildren are entitled to it. So there is no deprivation.
Meghan Meghan therefore referred to a future event, when she confided in Oprah Winfrey. It is presumed that when Charles becomes King, he will modify the Letters Patent of 1917 written by his great-grandfather, in order to restrict the attribution of the title around the descent of the heir, namely William, then George etc. This assumption has been known for years, even before Meghan entered the royal family and Archie was born. Several European monarchies have amended their titling laws to this effect. Charles made no secret of the fact that he was in favor of having a smaller royal family, especially to allow Windsors who do not wish to work for the Crown to be free.
Archie has the right to be considered an earl
There is one thing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex forget to mention. They are said to be behind the deprivation of their son's title of nobility. We are talking here about the title of classical nobility, recognized as a peerage of the United Kingdom. Indeed, as the eldest son of a Duke, Archie could have worn his father's subsidiary title as a courtesy. Prince Harry's full title is Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton, Baron Kilkeel. For the sake of completeness, it is traditional for subsidiary titles granted to members of the royal family to refer to a geographical location located in different parts of the United Kingdom, especially since there are three different types of peerages, with their specific system. Therefore, the title of Earl of Dumbarton is a title of the Scottish Peerage and that of Baron Kilkeel a title of the Peerage of Northern Ireland.
Logically, Archie, as the eldest son of the Duke of Sussex should, according to tradition be considered the Earl of Dumbarton, then should inherit the peerage of the Duchy of Sussex upon the death of his father. However, when Archie was born, a press release stated that he would not use his title of Earl of Dumbarton and would simply be recognized as Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, eligible to use the calling title of Masters. The calling title of Master is usually reserved for the heir to a Scottish peerage title.
Again, while it is traditional for the heir to bear the subsidiary title, its use has no value except stylistic. Just like, it's hard to officially ban someone from using their title. According to the Telegraph's information, it was therefore Harry and Meghan who requested that the title of Earl not be used for their son. Their request was honored, as Archie is a minor. But Archie could very well make use of it when he was 18 if he wanted to, just as little Lilibet Diana is officially Lady, as the daughter of a Duke, although here too the Sussexes are unwilling to use it. There is one thing that is certain, no one can stop Archie from inheriting the title of Duke of Sussex upon the death of his father. Nobody ? Yes, the parliament.
However, it should be noted that the last time a nobleman was dismissed was in 1917 with the Titles Deprivation Act. This law had been signed by the parliament to deprive of their titles the British nobles judged as enemies of the United Kingdom. The nobles targeted were British or Germanic princes, who held titles and who sided with the German side during World War I. The most famous case is that of Prince Charles Edward, who became a friend of Hitler, grandson of Queen Victoria, who had been called (despite himself) to reign over the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Note, to make the link with the title of prince, that despite the official repudiation of his family and the deprivation of his title of nobility, who was Duke of Albany, Charles-Edouard was not deprived of his quality of prince. . It is therefore unlikely but technically possible to withdraw a title.
The various media which relay the demands of critics of the Sussexes to deprive them of their title misunderstand how the attribution of nobility works. There is no point in asking the Queen to take away her titles from her grandson. She can't do it! The Queen can bestow a title, but it is totally impossible for her to withdraw a title. Only parliament can do this, after a long voting process, and as we have just seen, this has only happened in cases of treason in times of war.
In fact, Archie is well regarded as the heir to the Duchy of Sussex by the College of Arms (the College of Heralds, in French). This is the institution that registers and protects titles of nobility. The College of Heralds is based on the law promulgated at the time of the awarding of titles. However, at his marriage in May 2018, the Letters Patent ask to recognize Prince Harry, as Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton, Baron Kilkeel, and the legal text specifies that the titles are transferable to his "legitimately begotten" male heirs. Therefore, whatever Harry and Meghan do, their son is called upon to inherit the title, and can therefore be considered by his father's subsidiary title in the meantime.
For completeness, tradition dictates that the heir makes use of the subsidiary title as a courtesy. In the case where there are several subsidiary titles, it is usual to use the second most important title as the heir. Who would like to use the less important title? But in reality, there is no requirement to use one or the other subsidiary title. So Archie could have used Baron Kilkeel's as well if the word "Dumbarton" was really a problem for the couple.
For the record, Harry and Meghan have never honored their title of Earl and Countess of Dumbarton, unlike that of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Sussex, five months after their wedding, never Dumbarton. Dumbarton is a Scottish town of around 20,000 inhabitants. A medieval castle overlooks the town and the bank of the Clyde. Balmoral Castle is approximately a 200 km drive from Dumbarton.
The title of Earl of Dumbarton was first created by Charles II in 1675 for Lord George Douglas, to thank him for his military service during the Franco-Dutch War. When the title died out, for lack of a male heir in 1749, it reverted to the Crown. Dumbarton’s title is not insulting. The city was granted royal status and Queen Mary of Scotland lived there for some time as a child, before moving to France. As for the name of the city, it simply means "the fort of the Bretons", in the Breton language. The city rose to prominence in the 13th century as the capital of the Kingdom of Strathclyde.
