Will Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Baby Still Be Royal Even Though They Left the Royal Family?
It’s been over a year since Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry majorly shook up the royal family. In January 2020, the couple announced they were leaving their roles as senior members of the royal family. This meant they had to give up certain patronages and would no longer use their His and Her Royal Highness titles. So, what does that mean for Meghan and Prince Harry’s new baby?
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step down
Prince Harry and Meghan wanted to forge a new path for themselves and become financially independent. After meetings with the queen, Meghan and Harry determined they would completely step away from their roles as senior working royals.
“Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family,” Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement.
“Harry, Meghan, and Archie will always be much loved members of my family,” she continued. “I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.”
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor does not have a royal title
Though Prince Harry and Meghan’s first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was born before the pair stepped away from the royal family, he does not have a royal title. He was entitled to become the Earl of Dumbarton; however that was not the path Harry and Meghan wanted for the child.
Harry has always wanted his children to live as normal of a life as possible. In an interview with primatologist Jane Goodall for the special edition of British Vogue that Meghan guest-edited, Harry discussed his family.
“At the end [of the conversation], Meghan came in to listen with Archie,” Goodall recalled of the conversation to the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine. “He was very tiny and very sleepy — not too pleased to be passed from his mummy. I think I was one of the first to cuddle him outside the family.”
She continued: “I made Archie do the Queen’s wave, saying, ‘I suppose he’ll have to learn this.’ Harry said, ‘No, he’s not growing up like that.’”
Despite not having a title, Archie will always be entitled to one and when Harry dies, he will automatically become the Duke of Sussex.
Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s second baby be royal?
Though Prince Harry is no longer a working member of the royal family, he still has certain rights by birth. So he still is, in fact, royal and sixth in line to the throne. Though it is highly unlikely that Harry and Meghan’s second baby will ever make it to the throne, the child will still be eighth in line when they’re born.
Even though Harry has been a bit estranged from his family and now lives in the United States, his grandmother is excited to add another child to the family.
“Her Majesty, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and the entire family are ‘delighted’ and wish them well,” a palace spokesman told People.
