Could a future monarch alter the succession or titles of Harry and Meghan's children?
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Executive summary
A future monarch can change which descendants are styled prince or princess by issuing new Letters Patent; Archie and Lilibet acquired the right to those titles when their grandfather became king but that right can be altered by a sovereign’s decree [1] [2]. Current reporting shows the children are listed as Prince and Princess on some official pages after 2023 updates, but past and contemporary disputes over use and style indicate the decision involves royal protocol, precedent and political judgment as well as law [3] [1] [2].
1. How titles are created and removed: the sovereign’s power
British royal titles and styles were reshaped by Letters Patent issued by monarchs; King George V’s 1917 Letters Patent limited “prince/princess” to the sovereign’s children, the monarch’s grandchildren in the male line, and the Prince of Wales’s children — and a later sovereign can issue fresh Letters Patent to change who is entitled to a style [2] [1]. The Guardian explained plainly that preventing Archie or Lilibet from being a prince/princess would require the King to issue such an instrument, showing the change is a sovereign act, not a private family decision [1].
2. What actually happened after King Charles’s accession
After Charles became monarch, reporting showed Archie and Lilibet acquired the technical right to be a prince and princess; Buckingham Palace updated website listings and some outlets reported the children being publicly named Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in March 2023 following Lilibet’s christening [3] [2]. Earlier accounts around Queen Elizabeth II’s death noted the children “are now technically a prince/princess” unless the King changes protocols, underscoring the legal-constitutional mechanism at play [1].
3. Practice vs. style: HRH, use and publicity disputes
Despite legal entitlement, use of titles in practice has been contested: journalists and palace commentators highlighted that Archie and Lilibet were at times listed as “Master” and “Miss” on certain published succession documents, and debate has continued over whether HRH styles and protective arrangements should follow automatically [4] [5]. Media coverage shows the matter isn’t purely legal — it is entangled with decisions about working royals, security and public messaging [4] [5].
4. Precedent and choices by parents and the family
There is precedent for families declining titles: TIME noted Princess Anne chose not to give her children princely styles to simplify their lives, showing that parents and the sovereign can both shape outcomes through agreement or decree [5]. That precedent means a future monarch could choose to preserve, expand or narrow titular rights, and parents may also decline use even if a legal entitlement exists [5].
5. Political and reputational context matters
Commentary and analysis treat title changes as not merely technical but political: outlets speculated in 2025 that restructuring royal styles could be used to distance the core monarchy from the Sussex brand or to manage public perceptions of the institution, showing an implicit agenda behind any move to revoke or alter titles [6] [7]. Such analyses underscore that a sovereign’s decision would be read through a political and media lens as well as a constitutional one [6] [7].
6. What cannot be concluded from current reporting
Available sources do not mention any standing law beyond Letters Patent that would prevent a monarch changing the Sussex children’s titles; nor do they provide a definitive roadmap for Parliament’s role in such a change beyond the historical use of Letters Patent [1] [2]. Specific future actions by any future monarch — whether to revoke, preserve or amend Archie and Lilibet’s styles — are unreported and therefore not predictable from the sources provided [6] [7].
7. Bottom line for readers
Constitutionally, a future sovereign can alter who is entitled to princely styles by issuing Letters Patent or similar royal instruments; Archie and Lilibet’s current entitlement flowed from King Charles’s accession and post-accession updates, but their styles and public use remain matters of royal discretion, precedent and political judgment rather than immutable fact [1] [3] [2]. Different outlets present competing emphases — legal mechanism (Guardian, TIME), practical updates (BBC, Business Insider) and political interpretation (Marca, other commentary) — so readers should distinguish legal authority from media speculation when assessing claims [1] [3] [6].