Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Not Letting Archie Be ‘Used’ In This Way

They’ve defied royal traditions in several ways when it came to the birth of their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, and the reason Meghan Markle and Prince Harry refusing to give him a royal title is being done to give him as normal a life as possible—and keep him from being used by the royal family in a way they don’t want.

Royal expert Daniela Elser told news.com.au (via Express UK) that the lack of a title for the newborn allows the royal couple to keep him freer from media pressure and official engagements, unlike his cousins, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who all have titles (and in the case of Prince George, is an heir to the throne).

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have decided against letting their son be titled the Earl of Dumbarton, rather he will be known by the more democratic Master,” she said. “Their reasoning is simple. They want the lad to have as normal a life as possible, unencumbered by a future of plaque unveilings, horse shows and endless Commonwealth cocktail parties.”

“Also, perhaps more importantly, they want to keep him as far away from the glare of the intrusive, insatiable press as they can short of forcing him to grow up on an isolated Pacific atoll with no Wi-Fi,” she added.

She also noted that the decision to try and limit how much their son is exposed to the media through having a title comes down mostly in part to a preference by Prince Harry, who has spoken out in the past about his feelings regarding the media, especially when it came to how exposed he was to the world during his mother, Princess Diana’s funeral—and he doesn’t want Archie to become a “pawn” of the royal palaces and family.

“It makes perfect sense Harry wants to protect his child from ever being used as a pawn as some part of palace skulduggery,” she said. “By making him plain old ‘Master Archie,’ the Sussexes are putting paid to any future possibilities of him being regularly exploited for the Royal Family’s PR benefit.”

The decision not to give their son a title was also why he is one of the only members of the royal family to currently carry the Mountbatten-Windsor surname. The only other members of the family without titles are Harry’s cousins, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, whose mother, Princess Anne, opted not to give them titles and let them keep their father’s surname as children.