Why Meghan Markle Is Listed As Princess, Not Duchess On Birth Certificate

Meghan Markle has been listed as a Princess and not a Duchess on her son Archie’s birth certificate.

On the online forum site Quora, royal fans are wondering why the Duchess of Sussex is not referred to as such since this is her official royal title. Margaret Challen, a former student at the University of British Columbia, gave an interesting answer.

Challen said that Markle is technically a princess for the simple reason that she is married to a prince. However, she is just referred to as the Duchess of Sussex because Prince Harry has also been granted the title after they tied the knot.

“Being married to a royal duke is actually of higher status than being married to a prince. For example, take Queen Elizabeth’s first cousins, the children of her late uncle HRH Prince George, the Duke of Kent and his wife, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark,” she said.

Prince George and Princess Marina had three children, Prince Edward of Kent, Princess Alexandra of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent. Following Prince George’s death, Prince Edward’s royal title became Duke of Kent, which is from his late father. This means that while Prince Edward still remains as HRH Prince Edward, he became known as the Duke of Kent.

Elizabeth Anne Nield, an ardent Anglophile, gave a much simpler answer. She said that Markle is listed as a princess on her son’s birth certificate because she’s a Princess of the United Kingdom. However, this doesn’t mean that her royal title needs to be Princess Meghan.

Quentin Langley, who studied at Cardiff University, said that Markle is not a princess in her own right. But being called as one on her son’s birth certificate only means that it’s a courtesy title. As such, Markle is also known as Princess Harry because she is the wife of Prince Harry.

Markle and Prince Harry tied the knot on May 19, 2018, and they will be celebrating their anniversary on Sunday.