“The palace says it’s nothing to do with race,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “Under royal protocol established by King George V, only those in the direct line of succession to the throne get the titles [of] prince or princess.”

Despite Archie, 22 months, not receiving a title upon his birth in May 2019, the little one could still take on a new moniker when his grandfather Prince Charles ascends. “Archie would’ve been given a title when Prince Charles became king,” the insider adds.

While Prince William and Duchess Kate’s three children — Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, 2 — have titles, it is only because they are directly in line to the throne. On the other hand, Queen Elizabeth II’s other great-grandchildren, including Princess Eugenie’s 1-month-old son, August, and Zara Tindall’s daughters, Mia, 7, and Lena, 2, are not considered princes or princesses.

The queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, also chose not to give her children — Tindall, 39, and Peter Phillips — royal titles when they were born.

Meghan, 39, claimed during her and Harry’s Sunday, March 7, tell-all interview that the couple hoped Archie would be given a title, if only for security purposes. “They didn’t want him to be a prince or a princess, which would be different from protocol,” she said. “It was really hard. … 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 actress alleged she and Harry, 36, were given “no explanation” for the decision. “I heard a lot of it through Harry and other parts through conversations with family members,” she recalled, adding that denying Archie a title was in opposition to the George V convention. “It was a decision they felt was appropriate.”

Meghan, who is expecting her and Harry’s second child, then claimed that members of the royal family discussed Archie’s race ahead of his birth. “All around this same time, we had in tandem the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” she said. “That was relayed to me from Harry, those were conversations that family had with him. And I think it was really hard to be able to see those as compartmentalized conversations.”

Although Harry declined to elaborate on the race discussion, he clarified behind the scenes of the CBS interview that neither the queen, 94, nor Prince Philip were involved.

Buckingham Palace responded to the allegations on behalf of the monarch on Tuesday, March 9. “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,” a statement issued to Us read. “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Erin Crabtree