Prince Harry

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are officially married and with the royal wedding now a thing of the past, it is time to look to the future. The royal couple has previously expressed their desire to have children together, and while it may still be some time before this happens, that does not mean fans of the royal family are not curious as to what titles those children could potentially be given.

With the way the monarchy works, there are a number of questions that come to mind in terms of titles and status. One question that has apparently been brought up is whether or not Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children would have the title prince or princess. As Yahoo News reports, the very simple answer is no, their children will not have those titles because the, “prince and princess and his/her royal highness statuses are reserved for children or grandchildren of the monarch.”

The only exception to this rule comes from the children of Prince William and Kate Middleton, as both George and Charlotte have the titles of prince and princess respectively. In the case of Princess Charlotte, the Queen actually issued a special “letters patent” in order to allow her to have the same title as her brother. The reason Prince William’s children have these titles is because their father is in line to be king, which in turn means they are also in line to sit the throne.

When Prince William and Kate Middleton welcomed their third child in April of 2018, it actually pushed Prince Harry further down the line of succession, which means he is currently sixth in line to sit the throne. With his place in line, it is considered highly unlikely that should Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have children, that those children would ever be the monarch.

As of right now, if the newly wed couple has children before Prince Harry’s father, Prince Charles, becomes the ruling monarch, then those children would simply be given titles of lord or lady. However, while the current state of things may mean that Markle and the prince’s children would not be given titles of prince or princess, that does not mean it could not happen.

If Queen Elizabeth II were no longer the ruling monarch, for any reason, and Prince Charles took over the throne, then those titles and the status would be available to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children. Of course, there is also precedent that shows that those titles could also be turned down, as Prince Edward and his wife Countess Sophie chose not to use the titles with their children, in what was considered to be a break from tradition.

While any future children of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may not have the titles of prince or princess, that does not mean it could not happen. With there still being some time before the newly married couple even has children to worry about, there is no reason to believe that they are even worried about titles or anything like that. Instead, it is likely that they are too busy enjoying their first few days as a married couple, to concern themselves with future titles for their children.

Written by Kimberley Spinney

Sources:

Yahoo News – Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s kids won’t be princes or princesses

Featured and Inline Image Credit – Northern Ireland Office’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons

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