That’s Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to you.
News broke on Wednesday that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s two children—sixth and seventh in line to the British throne, respectively—are using their royal titles.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that “Princess Lilibet Diana” was christened on March 3 by the archbishop of Los Angeles. People reported that King Charles III, Queen Camilla, as well as Prince William and Princess Kate, both of Wales, all received invites to the event but did not attend.
An unnamed source told the magazine there were between 20 and 30 guests at Friday’s ceremony. They included Lilibet’s godfather, Tyler Perry, and maternal grandmother, Doria Ragland.
Why Is This Significant?
Technically, Archie and Lilibet became prince and princess upon the September 2022 death of Queen Elizabeth II and their grandfather King Charles’ immediate ascent to the throne. However, before Wednesday, it was unknown if Harry and Meghan would choose to use the titles for their children.
The couple notably stepped down as working members of the royal family in January 2020 and moved to the United States. In a March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, they detailed the “lack of support and lack of understanding” they felt within the family. Meghan also revealed she contemplated suicide while pregnant with Archie. And earlier this month, Harry and Meghan were asked to vacate their Frogmore Cottage home in Britain, suggesting a further divide between the couple and the monarchy.
It is still unknown whether Harry and Meghan will attend King Charles’ coronation on May 6, which is Archie’s fourth birthday.
Who Are Archie and Lilibet?
Prince Archie
Getty ImagesArchie Mountbatten-Windsor at four months old on September 25, 2019
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is the first child of Harry and Meghan and was born on May 6, 2019, at the private Portland Hospital in Westminster. The 3-year-old is the first member of the British royal family to be born with Black ancestry and to an American mother.
Archie is a less formal variation of Archibald, which means “genuine” or “bold.” In a BBC article from 2019, the managing editor of Majesty royal magazine, Joe Little, said he was unaware of any British royal connections with the name. However, it was No. 18 on the list of the top 100 boys names in England and Wales in 2017, according to Time, and the choice was an apparent attempt to make the royal family sound more relatable.
Harrison comes from an English surname that means “son of Harry.”
At his birth, Archie was seventh in the line of succession to the British crown but moved up to sixth upon Queen Elizabeth’s death and Charles’ ascension.
Princess Lilibet
Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on June 6, 2021, at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California.
She is named after Queen Elizabeth, who was called Lilibet during childhood, and the late Princess Diana of Wales, Harry’s mother who was killed in an automobile accident in Paris in 1997.
Similar to her brother, Lili moved up in line for the throne, from eighth to seventh, following the queen’s death.
Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.
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