Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed into the world their first child on the morning of May 6, 2019 at 5.26am. He will be known as Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor ranking seventh in line to the British throne, dropping down Prince Andrew, Duke of York to the eighth place and Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie to the ninth and tenth place respectively.
Initially, there was speculation that the Duchess of Sussex had plans to give a home birth at the Frogmore Cottage, their home in Windsor, however, this was never confirmed and news reports have stated that Meghan may have in fact been transferred to a private hospital in London for delivery.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, made their first public appearance together with their son Archie on May 8, 2019. The choice of the name Archie, which is a diminutive of Archibald was later announced through a post on Instagram. According to the UK Office of National Statistics, the name Archie is very popular in the United Kingdom, ranking at number eighteen for boys in the year 2017.
Unlike his royal cousins, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have decided not to give baby Archie a courtesy title at this stage, such as that of ‘Lord’. It is a tradition that the eldest son of a duke will eventually inherit his father’s title.
Royal titles are normally decided by Queen Elizabeth II. As a matter of fact, Archie could potentially be given a secondary Sussex title before he inherits the dukedom. Archie will be called Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. It is being assumed that the reason why the duke and duchess of Sussex decided not to give their son an official royal title is to give him the opportunity to enjoy a normal childhood.
Moreover, in 1917, King George V, made a change to the conditions of titles to limit the number of princes and princesses in the royal family. In view that Prince Harry is the second child of Prince Charles, he does not meet the requirements to pass on the princely status, and therefore Archie is not automatically entitled to be named a prince. Archie can acquire the title of a prince if a request by the duke and duchess of Sussex is made to the Queen.
The only person who was entitled to automatically be called a prince was Prince George, son of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis received these titles solely on the order of Queen Elizabeth II.
In view that Prince Harry is a British citizen, his son Archie became a British citizen at birth. Meghan, on the other hand, holds an American nationality and even though she declared that she has plans to apply for British citizenship when she got engaged to Prince Harry, the process can take a number of years. In view that Meghan is currently still recognised as an American citizen, Archie most definitely qualifies for US citizenship at birth. On the day of Archie’s birth, Prince Harry made an impromptu public press conference stating that he and his wife are over the moon and have been overwhelmed by the number of greetings they received from the public. Harry commented that “They are absolutely thrilled and grateful for all the love and support from everybody out there, it’s been amazing!”.
