Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s split from the Royal family, decamping to California and eschewing Royal duties, is virtually unprecedented, so the ins and outs of what that actually means are a little confusing.
After all, Harry and Meghan just went on a trip to Nigeria, which felt like a Royal tour in all but name — something that’s apparently angered King Charles and Prince William. The extent to which Harry has ditched his inherited role as a Royal is hard to tell, then, but if we’re to believe what’s written on his own son’s birth certificate it’s possible that he doesn’t even accept the title of prince anymore.
Prince Archie’s birth certificate seemingly reveals that Harry has dropped his title
Royal detectives have taken a fresh look at the birth certificate of Harry and Meghan’s eldest, Prince Archie — born in May 2019 in London — and discovered something extremely curious. Harry’s full name is listed on the document as “His Royal Highness Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex.” Notice anything? The word “Prince” is conspicuous by its absence.
This is in sharp contrast to what is written on the birth certificate for William and Kate Middleton’s children, George, Charlotte, and Louis, on which their father is listed as “His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis Duke of Cambridge.” What’s more, on William and Harry’s own birth certificates, King Charles — then a Prince — is called “His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George Prince of Wales.”
Now, sure, with a name that’s 10-11 words long it’s possible he just accidentally missed one off, but someone like Harry would surely know his full and proper title, so the absence of the term “Prince” seemingly carries a lot of weight. Remember, Harry and Meghan walked away from Royal life just a few months’ after their son’s birth, officially stepping away as Senior Royals in January 2020.
As for Meghan, she went by her birth name on Archie’s documentation, with her full title classified as “Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.” Meanwhile, her occupation was listed as “Princess of the United Kingdom” — which is a hell of a flex, you have to admit.
Things look slightly different on Princess Lilibet’s birth certificate — born in June 2021 in Santa Barbara — as Harry this time listed “The Duke of Sussex” as his first name and “HRH” as his surname. Interestingly, this is the reverse of the Archie situation, as while Harry has every right to still refer to himself as prince he technically can no longer call himself “His Royal Highness” after parting ways with his Royal duties.
So what does this tell us? Either Harry has personally and privately rejected his title as prince, despite passing the Royal title onto his two children…. Or that he’s just bad at paperwork.
