Meghan Markle & Prince Harry's Daughter Will Be Born A Lady Following Archie Title Dispute
Mar. 26 2021, Updated 4:00 p.m. ET
Will Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's daughter — who is due this summer — have a title? According to Newsweek, their child will be born a lady.
The couple turned down a title for Archie — he would have been Earl of Dumbarton — but they chose "Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor" instead, the College of Arms said.
However, their decision will not affect the name of their second child.
"The eldest son of any duke can take his father's second title as a courtesy title, which in his case is Earl of Dumbarton," Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms, said. "The eldest son of any duke can take his father's second title as a courtesy title, which in his case is Earl of Dumbarton."
Archie was not given the title of a lord because the pair turned it down, but any other children the duo have would be either lord or lady.
Harry and Meghan's daughter will have the same title Harry's mother, Princess Diana, had before she married Prince Charles — a.k.a. Lady Diana Spencer.
During Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey, the pair claimed that Archie wasn't given a title because some members of the royal family were "concerned" over his skin color. "They didn’t want him to be a prince or a princess, which would be different from protocol,” she said.
"Do you think it's because of his race? I know that's a loaded question," Winfrey asked.
“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 replied. “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.”
A few days later, Buckingham Palace responded to the allegations. “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, which was released on March 9, 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.”
After the interview aired, an insider revealed the real reason why Archie didn't have a title.
“The palace says it’s nothing to do with race,” an insider explained. “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 when he was born in May 2019, if the two didn't leave the royal family, he "would've been given a title when Prince Charles became king," the insider said.
