After the announcement earlier this month that he and Meghan Markle would be stepping back as ‘senior members’ of the royal family, Prince Harry and his wife are being given new titles.
In a statement, they said they will continue to ‘fully support’ the Queen and that stepping back will allow them to raise their eight-month-old son Archie away from the spotlight.
The pair openly spoke about the pressures of royal life in a candid TV interview in October.
Will Prince Harry still be a Prince?
Yes, Prince Harry will still technically be a Prince, just as he will remain sixth-in-line for the throne.
Previously, Harry and Meghan have been known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex respectively, but they will be dropping the HRH titles in spring when they have ceased being working royals.
On Saturday, it was announced that they would become known as Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: ‘The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.’
These titles are similar to those of divorced royals such as Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah (Ferguson), Duchess of York – Diana’s official title became such after her divorce from Harry’s father, Prince Charles, and Sarah’s after her divorce from Prince Andrew.
However unlike Diana, while Harry and Meghan will not use their HRH titles, they will still retain them.
A spokesperson for the Sussex’s issued a statement confirming the new arrangement saying: ‘As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from royal duties, including official military appointments.
‘They will no longer receive public funds for royal duties.
‘With the Queen’s blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations.’
For their son Archie Mountbatten Windsor, Harry and Meghan could have used the courtesy title Earl of Dumbarton. He was also entitled to be Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, but the couple opted against it.
Archie is not an HRH – nor is he a prince – as he is too far down the line of succession from the Queen.
Royal author Penny Junor previously said she thinks the choice to not give Archie a title stems from Harry’s struggles with growing up in the public eye.
She said she believed Harry would have ‘dearly liked to have been a normal boy’ after he confessed back in 2017 that he once ‘wanted out’ of the royal family.
Junor: ‘It’s exactly what I would have expected from Harry.
‘He would have dearly liked to have been a normal boy growing up and found his title very difficult.
‘I think that his choice for his son is to let him have the kind of life that he didn’t have.’
Harry, a former soldier, said during his time in the Army, when he was ‘just Harry’, was ‘the best escape I’ve ever had’ and he even considered giving up his title.
He said: ‘I felt I wanted out but then decided to stay in and work out a role for myself.’
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