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Prince William’s Friend Reveals His Plan for Archie and Lilibet When He's King: ‘The Idea That…’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, despite their royal exit, made sure their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, officially held their HRH titles. Following King Charles’s accession to the British throne, the kids became Prince and Princess, and Harry sought to have their names changed on their passports. A report by The Guardian claimed the Sussexes’ intentions behind wanting the HRH titles for their children had to do with leaving the door open for Archie and Lilibet if they ever wish to make a royal return when they grow up. In light of these recent claims, a friend of Prince William’s has revealed what the future King’s take is on the same.

According to the insider, William is unlikely to ever not hire his niece and nephew in the future. The friend told the Daily Beast, “He [William] obviously isn’t going to hire Archie and Lilibet. This is just trolling on the part of Harry and Meghan... The idea that somehow having a vestigial HRH as a baby later entitles you to be a working royal is beyond parody, even for them.” The friend also threw light on the fact that the late Queen Elizabeth asked the Sussexes not to use their HRH titles and suggested, “Obviously, any reasonable person would understand that would mean your kids don’t use them either.”

Dubbing it a ‘betrayal of the deal,’ the source opined that if Markle “intends to start parading the kids as HRHs to aggrandize herself, it just adds to the case to remove them, legally, altogether.” Another friend of the future King called the HRH titles ‘a funny thing,’ arguing “it’s actually technically a ‘style,’ i.e., a way of addressing someone.” According to the friend, the titles do not denote any official role or rank in the British system. The friend added, “An HRH is bestowed by letters patent — which is basically a fancy way of saying it is a legally binding royal decree — and by precedent, an HRH can be taken away by royal decree also. Look at Diana and Fergie. The HRHs weren’t removed ‘because they got divorced,’ the rules were quietly changed to remove HRHs from royal exes. There is a difference.” They stressed, “I imagine William will simply issue new letters patent to formally remove the entire family’s right to use HRH when he becomes King.”

Norman Baker, a former government minister, has previously revealed that the monarch has the authority to remove the HRH title as it was bestowed as a gift. Baker asserted, “It would basically be the equivalent to an executive order in the U.S.” In Baker’s views, Harry and Markle should have been stripped of their titles when they stepped down as working royals. He added that it was ‘a mistake’ not to do so.

Harry and Markle had to use their legal team to ensure their kids were given the said titles in their passports, and allegedly received the documents after six months of delay. An insider told The Guardian that the concert authorities were reluctant to change Archie and Lilibet’s names, further claiming that Charles was behind it all.