Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expecting their first baby, Kensington Palace has revealed today.
But the question is – will the new royal baby be a prince or princess?
The short answer is no – Harry and Meghan’s baby will not carry the royal title automatically upon birth.
However, if the Queen steps in and changes the rules for Harry like she did for William, their new arrival could well be a prince or princess.
Meghan and Harry’s children would be given the title of Lord or Lady, taking the surname Mountbatten-Windsor – a nod to Prince Philip’s family name.
Harry and Meghan were made the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day by the Queen.
The eldest son and heir apparent of a duke can use one of his father’s lesser grade peerage titles by courtesy, according to Debrett’s.
Therefore, a first son of Harry’s would become Earl of Dumbarton – one of the subsidiary titles Harry received from the Queen on the morning of his wedding. Any further sons would be known as Lord (first name) Mountbatten-Windsor.
If Meghan and Harry have a daughter, she would be Lady (first name) Mountbatten-Windsor.
In 1960, the Queen passed a ruling which only entitled the children or the grandchildren of the sovereign to take the title of Prince or Princess.
However, for the grandchildren to take the titles, they must be born to the sovereign’s son – not daughter.
In the case of Zara and Peter Phillips, for example, they are the children of Princess Anne. Anne is the Queen’s daughter and as the children of the monarch’s daughter, they do not hold a royal title.
Zara, who was born Miss Zara Phillips, has spoken of how not having a title was a blessing.
‘I’ve been very lucky. My parents didn’t give us titles, so we’ve been able to have a slightly more normal upbringing. As soon as you’ve got a title, it’s very difficult to shed it,’ she has previously said.
All of their cousins are children of the monarch’s sons – Charles, Edward and Andrew – so their children do get the royal titles, such as Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess Of York’s children Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
However, in the case of Prince Edward, his and Sophie, Countess Of Wessex’s children are not Prince or Princess.
Instead, their daughter Louise, 14, is known as Lady Louise Windsor and their son James, 10, is known as James Viscount Severn.
With Edward being given the Earl Of Wessex title upon marriage, he and Sophie decided to give their children the titles usually given to Earls’ children to somewhat shield them from the royal spotlight.
When Louise and James are older there is no law that would stop them from taking up the Prince and Princess titles, if they wish.
So why are Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis allowed to carry the coveted titles?
The rules regarding titles were limited by King George V – Harry’s great great grandfather – in 1917.
He declared that: ‘the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes of these Our Realms.’
The 1917 ruling stated that HRH titles were limited to the Monarch, the Monarch’s children and grandchildren and the Monarch’s eldest-born’s first grandson.
That would mean that only Prince George could have legally been called a Prince, while Charlotte and Louis would be Lady Charlotte Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Louis Mountbatten-Windsor.
However, in 2012 – one year after Kate and William married – the Queen allowed all children of William and Kate – her great-grandchildren – to take the Prince or Princess titles too.
The ruling does mean, however, that Princess Charlotte’s children are unlikely to be called Prince or Princess, just like Princess Anne’s children were not.
Harry and Meghan’s unborn child could be upgraded to Prince or Princesses when the line of succession to the throne changes as Prince Charles ascends the throne.
Prince Harry would then likely become HRH The Prince Henry, meaning Meghan would become HRH The Princess Henry.
Of course the Queen may also choose to make an exception for Harry’s children, like she did for William.
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