What titles do Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor hold?

1. How the titles changed: accession and a website update

The legal and customary trigger for Archie and Lilibet becoming entitled to “prince” and “princess” was King Charles III’s accession: great‑grandchildren of the monarch did not automatically carry those styles under the 1917 Letters Patent, but grandchildren do, so Archie and Lilibet became eligible once Charles became king; the royal family website was updated to show “Prince Archie of Sussex” and “Princess Lilibet of Sussex” ^{[1] [2]}.

2. What they are called in public reporting and by their parents

After the christening of Lilibet in March 2023 the Duke and Duchess of Sussex publicly referred to their daughter as “Princess Lilibet,” and media outlets and the official site subsequently reflected the titles Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet of Sussex ^{[3] [6]}. People and Town & Country documented the same change and the royal site’s update ^{[7] [1]}.

3. The HRH question: style vs. title

Several outlets note a distinction between being a prince/princess and using the style “His/Her Royal Highness.” Sources report that because Prince Harry agreed to step back from official duties, the use of HRH tied to his dukedom is “in abeyance,” and palace commentary indicated Archie and Lilibet would not be referred to with HRH in practice even as they are princes/princesses ^{[3] [8]}.

4. Courtesy titles and alternate possibilities that were discussed

Before the accession, by custom Archie (as the heir apparent to his father’s subsidiary title) could have used the courtesy title Earl of Dumbarton; reporting noted the family initially used “Master” and “Miss” and that media coverage and some commentary discussed whether the children would adopt their father’s courtesy titles or the princely styles once eligible ^{[9] [10]}.

5. Surnames and how the family presents them

Reporting also records that the children have been publicly styled with the surname Mountbatten‑Windsor historically, but the Sussex family later used “of Sussex” in titles and the parents have at times adopted “Sussex” as a surname for family purposes; Vogue and People covered the surname usage as part of how the children are publicly presented ^{[5] [4]}.

6. Disagreements, timing and the palace’s posture

Different outlets flagged timing discrepancies: the entitlement to princely titles arose on accession in September 2022, but the royal website and palace statements updated and clarified usage only after the Sussexes’ public reference to their daughter’s title around her christening in March 2023 ^{[11] [1]}. Sources note Buckingham Palace’s move to update the website “in due course,” suggesting institutional caution in public styling ^{[8] [3]}.

7. What reporting does not settle (limits of the sources)

Available sources do not mention whether any formal new Letters Patent beyond the 1917 rules were issued specifically to change the children’s status, nor do they provide a definitive legal document showing a permanent waiver or grant about HRH for Archie and Lilibet; reporting describes entitlement on accession and subsequent styling choices by the palace and the Sussexes but does not cite a fresh royal instrument ^{[1] [3]}.

8. Bottom line for readers

Official public records and multiple mainstream reports show the children are now styled Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex on the royal website and in media coverage; however, the higher style HRH is reported to be effectively withheld in practice because of the Sussexes’ changed role, and questions about courtesy titles and surname usage have continued to surface in coverage ^{[1] [3] [5]}.