Following the revelation that he gave his eldest son, Prince William, the new title of Earl of Chester, King Charles III has made some changes before his coronation on May 6.
According to documents from the Crown Office that were made available to the public on Friday, William’s title change was made official on February 13; therefore, he is now formally known as the Prince of Wales, a title that Charles first bestowed upon his son after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
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The change was made possible by the letters patent, an official document from the sovereign that can be used to express the Sovereign’s wishes, “for example to confer an office or create a new peerage.”
Does this imply that Charles will do the same for Archie and Lilibet, the children of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, now that he has officially changed William’s title?
The royal titles held by Archie and Lili have generated a lot of discussion. Because their grandfather, King Charles III, has ascended to the throne, they are technically a Prince and a Princess.
The HRH title and the title of prince or princess are automatically given to a sovereign’s children and grandchildren under rules established by King George V in 1917.
Even though William and Kate’s titles have been updated to “Prince and Princess of Wales,” and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, are now listed as “of Wales,” rather than “of Cambridge,” the royal website outlining the line of succession still refers to Archie and Lili as “Master” and “Miss,” respectively.
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The King’s spokesperson promised to change Archie and Lili’s new titles “as and when we get information” back in September.
“Although the Waleses’ website was updated, updating love on a website obviously doesn’t work, so we haven’t quite succeeded there. Nevertheless, it is obvious that he loves them. As new information becomes available, we will update the website “said he.
He responded, “At the moment, we’re focused on the next 10 days and as and when we get information, we will update that website,” when asked if Archie and Lili would assume the titles of Prince and Princess.
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Since Archie and Lili already have automatic titles, King Charles III would need to issue letters patent to change Archie’s and Lili’s status as prince and princess, respectively.
It is unknown if Archie and Lili will formally begin using their titles, but Meghan has previously stated that she would like this to happen.
Before Lili was born, during her explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, she was asked if she cared if Archie was a prince. She responded, “Of course,” if it meant he would be safe.
