Do Archie and Lilibet Have Royal Titles? The HRH Rule Explained
Archie and Lilibet became Prince and Princess in 2023, a full two years after their father left royal life. Here is the rule that made it happen.
When Archie was born in 2019, the family styled him simply as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, with no Prince attached at all, despite being the grandson of the future King. Four years and one accession later, both Archie and his younger sister Lilibet quietly became a Prince and a Princess. Nothing about their parents’ choices changed in between; what changed was who was sitting on the throne.
The short answer: yes, since March 2023
The royal family’s official website confirmed in March 2023 that Meghan and Harry’s children are entitled to be known as Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex, both carrying the style His or Her Royal Highness. The update came six months after Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III’s accession, and coincided with Lilibet’s christening, the first time the family used the titles publicly and formally.
A rule written in 1917, not a special favour
The titles are not a personal gift from King Charles to his grandchildren; they follow automatically from a set of rules George V established with Letters Patent in 1917, the same year he renamed the royal house Windsor. Those rules govern who is automatically entitled to the style HRH and the rank of Prince or Princess, and one of their provisions is that all grandchildren of the monarch in the male line qualify for the title. Before Charles became King, Archie and Lilibet were the great-grandchildren of the reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, a generation the 1917 rules do not automatically cover. The moment Charles acceded, they became his grandchildren instead, and the entitlement activated on its own, regardless of anyone’s personal preference.
Why they didn’t have titles as babies
This is exactly why Archie was born without a title in 2019 and Lilibet in 2021, despite widespread public assumption that royal grandchildren always get one automatically. Both were born during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, when they sat one generation too far removed from the sovereign to qualify under the 1917 rules. Harry and Meghan did not decline titles for their children, as some reporting suggested at the time; the children simply were not yet entitled to them under the standing rules, the same rules that had also, incidentally, left Prince William and Kate’s own children without titles before Charles became Prince of Wales’s heir apparent status changed things for them differently.
Where they sit in the line of succession
Prince Archie of Sussex is currently sixth in line to the throne, and Princess Lilibet of Sussex is seventh, both positioned immediately after their father, the Duke of Sussex, who is fifth. Their positions have shifted downward over time as King Charles’s older grandchildren, George, Charlotte and Louis, and any future children born ahead of them in the family tree, have been added to the succession above them, but a title and a place in the succession are two entirely separate things: virtually everyone with a title also holds a succession position, but the title itself comes from the 1917 rules, not from where someone ranks in line to the throne.
Having a title is not the same as being a working royal
It is worth being clear about what the title does and does not confer. Archie and Lilibet hold the HRH style and the rank of Prince and Princess in the same technical sense that George, Charlotte and Louis do, but they are not working royals, do not carry out official public duties on behalf of the monarchy, and live privately in California with their parents, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020. A royal title, in other words, is a matter of formal entitlement and protocol; it says nothing by itself about someone’s public role.
Why the family updated its own website
The March 2023 update to the royal family’s official website was, functionally, an administrative correction rather than an announcement of new titles being granted. Once Charles became King, the entitlement under the 1917 rules simply existed, whether or not it was ever formally used in public communications, and updating the website brought official recognition in line with the underlying legal position.
Browse more of our Royal Figures stories for how royal titles and protocol actually work.
Frequently asked questions
Do Archie and Lilibet officially have royal titles?
Yes. Since March 2023, the royal family’s official website has listed them as Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex, both entitled to the style His or Her Royal Highness.
Why didn’t Archie and Lilibet have titles when they were born?
Both were born during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, when they were her great-grandchildren rather than grandchildren. The 1917 rules governing royal titles only automatically cover the monarch’s grandchildren in the male line, so they did not qualify until King Charles III’s accession changed their generational position.
What rule determines who gets a royal title?
Letters Patent issued by George V in 1917, which set out that children of the sovereign, children of the sovereign’s sons, and the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales are automatically entitled to the style HRH and the rank of Prince or Princess.
Where are Archie and Lilibet in the line of succession?
Archie is sixth in line to the throne and Lilibet is seventh, both positioned directly after their father, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, who is fifth.
Are Archie and Lilibet working royals?
No. Despite holding royal titles, they are not working royals and do not perform official public duties on behalf of the monarchy. They live privately with their parents in California.
Did King Charles have to personally approve their titles?
No. The titles followed automatically from the 1917 rules once Charles became King; no new grant or special personal decision by him was required, only public confirmation via the royal family’s website.
Title and succession details are drawn from the royal family’s official website updates and the 1917 Letters Patent governing royal styles; correct as of 2026.
