Congratulations are in order for the Sussexes, who just became a family of four! Meghan Markle has given birth to her second child with Prince Harry, a daughter they named Lilibet "Lili" Diana. Archie's new sister will be the last child for the Sussexes, who have indicated in interviews that they plan to have only two children. And though Meghan and Harry have stepped down as senior royals, their new daughter is a close descendent of the Queen and the King-to-be, Prince Charles, and, therefore, is high up in the royal line of succession (opens in new tab).
But just how high up, you ask? Well, let's say that a whole lot of royals are getting bumped down today. Among them are Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and their children, and the Queen's other children, Andrew, Edward, and Anne. Notably not among them are Prince William and his kids, who are all higher up on the royal line of succession than Harry and his family.
Without further ado, here's the current line of succession now Lilibet is born:
- Queen Elizabeth II
- Prince Charles
- Prince William
- Prince George
- Princess Charlotte
- Prince Louis
- Prince Harry
- Archie Mountbatten-Windsor
- Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor
- Prince Andrew
- Princess Beatrice
- Princess Eugenie
- August Brooksbank
If Kate Middleton and Prince William have any more kids, Lilibet will be bumped down to number ten—but at present, Lilibet is number nine in the royal line of succession, immediately followed by the Queen's three non-Charles kids and their own children.
It's extremely likely that Lilibet, like her brother Archie and cousin August, will not have a royal title, at least not for now. When Archie was born and christened without a royal title, it was assumed that this was Meghan and Harry's way of making sure he had a normal life—but in their tell-all Oprah interview, the couple disputed this. "They didn’t want him to be a prince or a princess, which would be different from protocol," Meghan said. "It was really hard.…This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy where I’m going, 'Hold on a second. How does that work?…If he’s not gonna be a prince, he needs to be safe.'" (Meghan was concerned that if Archie was not a prince, he would not get royal security.)
Meghan and Harry insinuated that the lack of title was a racist decision on the Palace's part. "All around this same time, we had in tandem the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born," Meghan told Oprah.
A palace source told (opens in new tab)Us Weekly (opens in new tab) that there was "protocol," however: "The palace says it’s nothing to do with race. Under royal protocol established by King George V, only those in the direct line of succession to the throne get the titles prince or princess...Archie would’ve been given a title when Prince Charles became king."
What this does mean, of course, is that Archie may become a prince when Queen Elizabeth II's rule ends Prince Charles takes the throne—and his sister, Lilibet, a princess. And, of course, the entire line of succession will be changed at that point.
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