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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry COULD have given son Archie Earl of Dumbarton title – but didn’t want to
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry COULD have given son Archie a prestigious title but chose not to, it's claimed.
Experts say the couple had the chance to take advantage of a long-standing royal tradition to allow their son to become the Earl of Dumbarton.
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However, that would mean he would not be a Prince or an HRH,
Unlike William's children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - Archie doesn't have any royal title.
Instead he goes by his full name Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
It was previously thought his parents were involved in talks about what he would be called with claims they didn't want him to have a title to allow him to lead a more "normal" life.
However, in their shock interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan revealed they did want him to have a title for security reasons.
She went on to suggest Archie wasn't made a prince after "concerns and conversations" about "how dark" his skin would be when he was born.
The Duchess of Sussex said there had been conversations with Prince Harry and a "family" member about their unborn son and what colour his skin would be - and "what that would mean or look like".
Speaking to Oprah, Meghan said the concerns had been raised at the same time that the future parents were told Archie would not receive security as he was not a prince.
She said: "All the grandeur around this stuff is not really important to me.
"But in those months when I was pregnant, all around same time: we have in tandem he won’t be given security, a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born."
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She suggested they were given no explanation for why he didn't get a title, and asked if she wanted to have one she replied: “If it meant he was going to be safe, of course.”
However, a regal expert has now revealed Meghan and Harry did have the option to give their son a title if they opted to.
A spokesperson for Debrett’s said: “In 1917, King George V ordered that only the grandchildren of the monarch would be entitled to use the style of prince or princess and HRH, the only exception to this order was that the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales would also be entitled to be use the style HRH and Prince.
“In accordance with the 1917 order, Archie could now use his father's title of the Earl of Dumbarton and could be referred to as Lord Dumbarton.
“In 2012, the Queen issued new Letters Patent that the style of HRH and Prince/Princess would be extended to all of Prince William’s children, not just his eldest son.
"Archie's entitlement to use the style of Prince and HRH will come into force when his grandfather Prince Charles becomes king.”
However, some royal reporters have claimed that at the time they were told by insiders that the couple "didn't want" Archie to have any sort of title.
Roya Nikkah, the Sunday Times's Royal correspondent, told ITV documentary Harry and Meghan: The Week that Shook the Royals: “I was told when Harry and Meghan announced their pregnancy in Australia in 2018 that they did not want the Queen to vary the rules to make Archie a prince.
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She continued: “They were very happy for him not to have a title. They wanted him to be unencumbered by the restrictions that come with titles.”
Meanwhile, according to Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, it could have been part of his parents’ plan to step back as Royals.
Mr Little told Daily Express: “The fact Archie isn't Earl of Dumbarton or styled HRH makes me wonder whether this wasn't already part of a wider masterplan.”
Meghan Markle 'would have known' why Archie was not made a prince royal experts say - branding Oprah claims 'misleading'
Roya Nikkah, the Sunday Times's Royal correspondent, told ITV documentary Harry and Meghan: The Week that Shook the Royals: “I was told when Harry and Meghan announced their pregnancy in Australia in 2018 that they did not want the Queen to vary the rules to make Archie a prince.”
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One regal expert said: “In accordance with the 1917 order, Archie could now use his father's title of the Earl of Dumbarton and could be referred to as Lord Dumbarton'.
“In 2012, the Queen issued new Letters Patent that the style of HRH and Prince/Princess would be extended to all of Prince William’s children, not just his eldest son.
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