Expert accuses Prince Harry, Meghan Markle of monetising children's royal titles

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said having royal titles for their children Archie and Lilibet is their birthright. But one royal commentator has accused the couple of "prostituting" their ties to the royal family.

Last week a representative for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that Archie and Lilibet are now called HRH Prince and HRH Princess, respectively. This decision was reportedly agreed upon in private following the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.

The decision was only made public when the couple announced the baptism of their daughter. The announcement referred to Lilibet as "Princess." A spokesperson for the Sussexes said in a statement, "I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev. John Taylor."

However, Buckingham Palace did not follow suit with an announcement of its own. Instead, the palace only updated Archie and Lilibet's titles on the Line of Succession on the Royal Family's website. They were previously listed as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.

According to royal commentator Esther Krakue, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wanted the HRH titles for their children because of money. She told Sky News Australia, "Most people can't help but think they did this for money. Of course, the couple will dispute that. Reports have come from the Sussexes that they actually just wanted their kids to have their 'birthright'."

She added, "But again, it's Harry's birthright to be a Prince and he's done everything in his power to disparage the institution that has given him this birthright. We obviously know that the Sussexes have made a lot of money off their titles, given the fact they had a Netflix documentary, and they had an interview with Oprah, and now Harry's book Spare."

Krakue alleged that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "are very aware that this wouldn't happen if they weren't members of the Royal Family and didn't have these titles." She called it "quite disparaging and insulting because they're effectively prostituting their titles and the Royal Family to make more money."

As for the delayed notice about Archie and Lilibet's HRH titles, royal expert Ingrid Seward thinks that the couple waited for Buckingham Palace to announce the changes just as it did to Prince Edward's title.

King Charles III announced that he was "pleased" to pass the title of Duke of Edinburgh to his younger brother. Seward called it "interesting" that the Sussexes waited six months to announce their children's royal titles.

She thinks that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "were hoping the Palace would jump the gun and announce it before they did." She told the Mirrror, "No such luck. Buckingham Palace left its website intact and allowed the Sussexes to make the move themselves so they couldn't complain."

The palace only updated Archie and Lilibet's royal titles two days after the baptism announcement. Seward added, "It is so much easier to do things in the traditional style. Edward knew he was going to get the title as his late father had requested. The King bided his time until the moment was right. Edward's birthday two months before the coronation was the perfect moment."

"Beforehand might have been too close to the late Queen's death on September 8 last year. Any later and it might have had to wait until the day of the Coronation."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed multi-million dollar deals with Netflix and Spotify since they left their royal duties in January 2020. They also launched their non-profit organisation Archewell Foundation. They have since been accused of monetising their royal titles in their quest to become financially independent from the royals.