Prince Charles Can Decide to Strip Archie & Lili of Their Titles When He’s King—Here’s His Plan

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s kids can receive prince and princess titles when their grandfather becomes king—but will Prince Charles strip Archie and Lilibet’s royal titles instead? Well, at least one royal expert believes he won’t make that “unpopular and hostile” decision.

Robert Lacey, who is the author of Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, explained to People that he finds it very unlikely that the Prince of Wales, 72, will challenge the royal convention that allows all of his grandchildren to receive the titles of prince or princess once he takes the throne. “I don’t think he will make the unpopular and hostile move of removing the royal status of his grandchildren,” Lacey told the magazine in a report published on Friday, June 25.

The rule that would allow Archie and Lilibet to become a prince and princess was established by King George V in 1917,  after he issued a Letters Patent which read, “the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of these our realms.”

Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine, further explained the convention to People: “As the grandchildren of the Sovereign, they have the right to be upgraded to the style of His or Her Royal Highness. But that begs a question of whether Harry and Meghan want that,” he told the magazine in early June.

While Prince Charles may not challenge this longstanding tradition, historian Lacey does think the future king will focus his efforts on upgrading his wife’s royal title. Buckingham Palace has previously said that Prince Charles’ wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is expected to inherit the title of Princess consort when he accedes the throne. According to Lacey, Charles may attempt to make her Queen. Of course, we’ll just have to wait and see!

Battle of Brothers by Robert Lacey

Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers.

For more from historian Robert Lacey, check out his 2020 book, Battle of Brothers. In this New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, Lacey takes a close look at Harry and William’s relationship throughout the years and considers each moment that led to their eventual estrangement. From the impact of their mother Princess Diana’s tragic death and the pressures of their roles in the royal family (William, the future king vs. Harry, the spare), to the influence their wives Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have had on their differing paths, Battle of Brothers reveals all the “highs, lows, and discretions” of these brothers’ lives in a way “never offered before.”

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