Daughter of Harry, Meghan christened, will use royal title

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, announced their daughter had been christened in a private ceremony in California, publicly calling her a princess and revealing for the first time that they will use royal titles for their children. Princess Lilibet Diana, who turns 2 in June, was baptized Friday, Harry and Meghan said in a statement. Lilibet’s title and that of her brother, Archie, who will be 4 in May, will be updated on the Buckingham Palace website later.

The question of the children’s titles took center stage two years ago during Harry and Meghan’s TV interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan said that when she was pregnant with Archie,“they”— presumably the palace — “were saying they didn’t want him to be a prince ... which would be different from protocol.”at the time, royal experts said Meghan’s comments appeared to be based on a misunderstanding of the way royal titles are conferred.

Titles are conferred in line with 1917 decree that limits titles of prince and princess to male-line grandchildren of the sovereign. As long as the late Queen Elizabeth II was alive, Harry and his older brother, Prince William, were the sovereign’s grandchildren. Harry and William’s children didn’t receive the titles automatically. But Elizabeth, in 2012, decreed the children of Prince William and his wife, Catherine, would be princes and princesses. This decree didn’t apply to Harry and Meghan. However, the situation changed when King Charles III ascended the throne last year.

William and Harry are the king’s sons, meaning their offspring are now royal grandchildren and entitled to be known as prince and princess.