Will Meghan Markle And Prince Harry’s Children Be Princes And Princesses?

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are getting married, and that likely means that babies will be coming in the next few years. While Harry is a prince, Meghan and Harry’s children won’t necessarily be princes or princesses.

The titles are determined by the Letters Patent in 1917, which states that while Queen Elizabeth is on the throne, only Prince William’s son is entitled to put Prince in front of his name. According to the Independent, the rule states, “...the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes of these Our Realms.”

By that rule, only Prince George should have gotten a title, but Queen Elizabeth II intervened to make sure Charlotte was born a princess. She issued a Letters Patent in 2012 that declared all of children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales were entitled to have prince or princess before their name. The Queen would have to step in again if Prince Harry wanted his child to officially be a prince or princess.

Without any intervention, Harry and Meghan’s future children would be called Lord or Lady. Unlike Prince William’s children, they would also use a surname, Mountbatten-Windsor. Prince Philip’s last name is Mountbatten, and Queen Elizabeth is from the house of Windsor.

Their children won’t be the only ones without prince or princess titles. As previously reported, Meghan will not be called Princess Meghan. She is not of royal blood and therefore can’t use the title. The same is true for Kate Middleton, who is also not a princess. She received the title Duchess of Cambridge after marrying Prince William, and Meghan is likely to receive a similar title after she ties the knot.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are planning a wedding, but they aren’t trying to get pregnant yet. “Not, not currently no,” Harry told BBC News in his engagement interview. “No, of course you know. I think you know one step at a time, and hopefully we’ll start a family in the near future.”

While kids aren’t in the picture yet, Harry has been making sure Meghan is part of his family. He has introduced her to all of the important people in his life, and it seems the group has embraced his new love.

“The family together have been absolutely, you know, a solid support and my grandparents as well have been — have been wonderful throughout this whole process and they’ve known for quite some time,” Harry said. “So how they — how they haven't told anybody is — is again a miracle in itself. But now the whole family have come together and have been a huge amount of support.”

The royal wedding is set to take place in May at Windsor Castle. The couple will be married in St. George’s Chapel, which can hold about 800 people. Unlike his Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, the day will not be a bank holiday.