Prince Harry and Meghan may have stepped back from royal life – but they’re not shutting the palace gates for their kids just yet. The couple reportedly want Archie and Lilibet to keep their titles, sparking debate over whether it’s about choice … or mixed messages.
Despite Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping away from their royal duties and all the palace drama a while ago, it seems they’re keeping the door open for their kids to walk a different path.
They reportedly want Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to hang onto their royal titles – just in case they decide they do want to be working royals one day. Apparently, Harry and Meghan see it as giving their kids the option when they’re older. But here’s where it gets a bit sticky, as the ‘plan’ comes after the source claimed the Sussexes feared passports for their children were being held up due to the use of their royal titles.
It has all raised a few eyebrows., with former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond asking why the Sussexes are holding so tightly to the titles when they’ve been so outspoken about wanting out of the royal system in the first place.
So, what do you think? Is Harry being thoughtful about giving his kids future choices — or is it a bit contradictory after everything he and Meghan have said about the monarchy? What do you think to Harry’s plan? Take our poll below. If you can’t see it, click here
Jennie Bond told the Mirror: “I really don’t understand why, having extricated themselves from a life they did not enjoy and in which Harry has publicly spoken of ‘feeling trapped’, they want to give their children the option of re-joining. It makes no sense.
“Who knows what’s going to happen in the future? But it’s very hard to see how two children who are clearly now more American than British would want to change their whole way of life and become working members of the royal family.”
Archie and Lilibet got prince and princess titles when their grandfather King Charles became monarch in 2022. The first time their titles were formally announced was after Lilibet’s christening in March 2023.
Due to the reported hold-up in their British passports, it is said that Harry started to explore the possibility of changing his family surname to Spencer in a nod to his late mother, Princess Diana.
And Jennie added: “I think Harry has always been more Spencer than Windsor, so if he was ever going to change his name, it would be to Spencer.
“But this would be a final nail in the coffin of his relationship with his father and his brother. It would amount to a public declaration that he no longer saw himself as part of the royal family.”
There has been continued controversy over the Sussexes’ HRH titles since the pair quit their royal roles five years ago. As part of their Megxit negotiations with the Palace, Meghan and the Duke of Sussex agreed to stop using “Her Royal Highness” and “His Royal Highness” at the end of March 2020. They still retain the styles, with Harry having had his since birth, but they are essentially held in abeyance.
However, earlier this year, it emerged Meghan had used her HRH style on a gift basket sent to make-up entrepreneur Jamie Kern Lima last year, with a monogrammed card reading: “With Compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex”.
Kern Lima showed an image of the present in footage of her podcast interview with Meghan. It contained a jar of Meghan’s jam which she has started selling as part of her As Ever lifestyle business brand.
A source described the basket as a “personal gift”. The duchess’s representatives denied that the couple used them, but a source later said that the Sussexes did not use HRH publicly but retained the style, and did not use it for commercial purposes.
What do you think to Prince Harry’s bizarre plan for his kids? Take our poll above and expand on your thoughts in the comments below.