Archie Isn’t ‘Entitled’ to Royal Title, Has No Bearing on His Security

Archie wouldn’t have automatically received security with the title of ‘prince,’ according to royal expert Craig Prescott — exclusive details

Keeping with tradition? Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie’s lack of title is both normal and unrelated to his security restrictions, royal expert Craig Prescott exclusively told Us Weekly.

Meghan, 39, seemed to have multiple issues with her firstborn not receiving a title like his cousins, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, during the couple’s CBS tell-all interview on Sunday, March 7. According to Prescott, however, her “concerns” are a result of protocol and not in any way personal.

“One [concern is] that is that if Archie had a title, he would get security, but that isn’t quite true,” Prescott told Us on Wednesday, March 10, pointing to Harry’s cousin’s Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s lack of protection despite having titles as an example.

The constitution expert explained that the princesses, who are daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, “don’t do public duties and don’t get security as a rule” even though they have titles given to them by their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The royal expert further stated that as the rules of the Monarchy are now, “Archie isn’t entitled to be called prince from when he was born. He is too far removed from the line of succession.”

Archie Isnt Entitled Royal Title Has No Bearing His Security — Prince Harry with son Archie. Courtesy of Sussex Royal/Instagram

Prescott told Us that great-grandchildren don’t “generally” get a title when they’re born. Her Majesty, 94, “made an exception for the Cambridge children, because they are in the direct line of succession,” he says, with their father, Prince William, set to be king one day.

He added that when King George V created the rules that are currently in place, “He didn’t think of great-grandchildren all that much because people didn’t live that long in 1917.” Following the original rule, Prescott said it doesn’t make sense that an exception should be made for Archie, 22 months, because “he’s quite down the line of succession,” after all of his Cambridge cousins and his father, 36.

When it comes to the royal family, Prescott pointed out that Prince Andrew’s grandchildren — Eugenie’s 1-month-old son August — and Princess Anne’s grandchildren — Savannah, 10, Isla, 8, Mia, 7, and Lena, 2 — don’t have titles, which is similar to Archie. William and Duchess Kate’s kids are seemingly the exception since they are direct descendants of the future king.

Archie could, however, gain a title once his grandfather, Prince Charles, takes the throne since most of the queen’s grandchildren have a title because of their connection to her. The queen’s daughter, Anne, chose not to give her son, Peter Phillips, and daughter, Zara Tindall, titles when they were born.

The royal expert stated that only sons and daughters of the Monarch and the grandchildren from those children can be called prince or princess.

“The second concern Meghan has is that when Charles becomes king, Archie will become a prince, but it’s essentially up to the Monarch who gets royal titles and who doesn’t,” Prescott told Us. “And it’s open to the Monarch to change the rules so that Archie doesn’t become a prince.”

When Charles, 72, takes over for Her Majesty he can dub Archie and his future granddaughter — Harry and Meghan are expecting a baby girl this summer — a prince and princess, or he can opt not to update their names.

“It does seem that Prince Charles wants to slim down the Monarchy because he may want to focus on him, [wife] Duchess Camilla and Kate and William and their children in time,” Prescott added.

According to the royal expert, Archie could have taken a “subsidiary title” and been called the Earl of Dumbarton, but “Harry and Meghan seemingly decided against this.” Prescott reiterated, however, that being an earl still “wouldn’t have made a difference to security.”

During the couple’s bombshell interview on Sunday, Meghan said the pair hoped Archie would be given a title for safety purposes. “It was really hard,” she explained of the title back and forth conversations. “This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy where I’m going, ‘Hold on a second. How does that work? … If he’s not gonna be a prince, he needs to be safe.’”

The former Suits actress claimed she and Harry were given “no explanation” for the title pull, saying, “It was a decision they thought was appropriate.” She also revealed the conversations about title came in tandem with “concerns” about “how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

A source told Us on Wednesday, however, that “the palace says it’s nothing to do with race” and is about “royal protocol.”

A day prior, Buckingham Palace reacted to the couple’s claims of racism and other revelations from the explosive interview in a statement.

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” the statement issued to Us on Tuesday, March 9, read, noting the family will “privately” look into the allegations. “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”