Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children, Archie and Lilibet, have officially been recognized as a prince and princess, respectively. But, do those titles come with some strings attached? According to The Blast, King Charles III offered Harry and Meghan’s kids titles as an “olive branch.”
The publication reported that Charles had a role in making Archie and Lilibet’s titles official. He reportedly did so in an effort to extend an “olive branch” to the pair amid the reported strife within the royal family. The monarch reportedly had a “private conversation” with Harry following Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, during which he agreed that Archie and Lilibet would be given titles. While Charles may have played a role in the Sussex children getting titles, Archie and Lilibet became a prince and a princess upon his ascension to the throne.ย
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Under a Letters Patent issued by King George V in 1917, the grandchildren of the reigning monarch in the male line would be granted titles. Since Archie and Lilibet are the grandchildren of the current king, they became a prince and a princess back in September when he became the next monarch of the United Kingdom. Still, it was only recently that they were publicly referred to as such.ย
Lilibet was reportedly christened in Los Angeles on March 3 in a small ceremony that was only attended by 20-30 people. Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, and Tyler Perry, Lilibet’s godfather, were two of the people in attendance at the event. After the christening, Harry and Meghan released a statement via a spokesperson in which they referred to their daughter as “Princess Lilibet” for the first time publicly. The statement read, “I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.” Buckingham Palace subsequently made their titles official on their website. Prior to this change, Archie and Lilibet were referred to as “Master” and “Miss.”
Another source told PEOPLE that Archie and Lilibet have been a prince and princess ever since Charles ascended to the throne. They also stressed that Meghan and Harry acted in accordance with the royal family, saying, “The children’s titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch. This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace.”
