The real reason Archie isn’t a prince
Last night, the highly anticipated Meghan Markle and Prince Harry tell-all Oprah interview aired in the US (it'll be on ITV this evening) and the couple discussed everything from mental health to their secret wedding – and why their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, doesn't have the title of 'Prince Archie'. This comes in spite of him being seventh in line to the throne.
Archie's cousins, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, all have a prince or princess title and up until now, it was believed that Archie was referred to simply as a 'Master' because Meghan and Harry wanted their son to have as normal a life as possible.
Watch: Split opinion on Meghan, Harry's Oprah interview
It was reported that by birthright (as he's the firstborn son of a duke), Archie could have adopted the title Earl of Dumbarton but that the couple deliberately declined that moniker, and in any formal statements issued by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, or the Palace, Archie has never been referred to as HRH either.
However, Meghan has now claimed that's not true and the reason Archie doesn't have a title is because the royal family didn't want him to have one. She told Oprah (and the world) that she did want her son to receive a title, as that would've afforded him a security team.
"They were saying they didn't want him to be a prince or princess, which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn't going to receive security," Meghan said. "This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy where I was going, hold on for a second."
She continued on to say, "They said [he's not going to get security], because he's not going to be a prince. Okay, well, he needs to be safe – so we're not saying don't make him a prince or princess, but if you're saying the title is what's going to affect that protection, we haven't created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder, you've allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe."
Meghan added that she was never given a clear reason why they (it's unclear if she means the Queen, or other royal family members, in this instance) did not want Archie to be given a title. "If it meant he was going to be safe, of course. All the grandeur around this stuff is an attachment I don't have... the most important title I will ever have is mom."
When his grandfather, Prince Charles, eventually does become the King, Archie will automatically become a prince, yet to that note Meghan said, "Even with that convention [that automatically makes all grandchildren of the monarch a prince or princess], they said, 'I want to change the convention for Archie.' Well, why?"
She also added that it's concerning that "the first member of colour in this family isn't being titled in the same way as other grandchildren would be."
During the interview, Meghan also shared that the child she is currently expecting, Archie's younger sibling, is a girl.
The Palace are yet to comment on any of the claims made during the Oprah interview.
Watch: Society of Editors boss in heated row over 'racist' Meghan headlines
CBS Presents Oprah with Meghan and Harry will air on ITV at 9pm tonight and on ITV Hub, Courtesy of Harpo Productions/CBS.
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