Royal insiders are questioning why Buckingham Palace waited until this week to confirm that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children were given prince and princess titles when it was officially granted before Christmas.
Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, will both be officially known as Prince and Princess, a Sussex spokesperson confirmed Wednesday, following the announcement that Lilibet was christened Princess Lilibet Diana in California last weekend.
However, royal insiders are questioning why Buckingham Palace is updating its website only now, notably, just days after it was revealed that King Charles has asked the Sussexes to move out of their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage.
A royal row was sparked following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September when Archie and Lili were not immediately made Prince and Princess when their grandfather ascended the throne as convention dictates. Instead, they retained their “master” and “miss” titles.
It was reported that Charles was waiting to make the move after the release of the Sussexes Netflix show and Harry’s blockbuster memoir, “Spare.”
Palace insiders briefed Wednesday that there had been correspondence with the Sussexes over the titles, and the official royal website would be updated to reflect the title changes.
“The Duke and Duchess made it clear they wanted to use the titles for their children, as convention dictates,” a source tells Page Six. “After the queen died, updates were made to the royal website and despite their birthright, Archie and Lilibet were not given their titles.”
The website did update the line of succession and reflected Prince William and Princess Kate’s new titles as the Prince and Princess of Wales.
“If the titles had just been updated, along with everyone else, there would be no story,” says the source.
Another royal insider said Harry and Markle were left fearing their children’s titles would actually be removed.
However, things were resolved before the end of last year, we’re told. But despite this, the website was still not updated.
We’re told palace officials made the first move in offering a change to the website last week.
The royal insider says: “It begs the question, why now? This all happened at the end of last year, the timing is strange.”
As we revealed, it’s not yet clear whether Harry and Markle will attend Charles’ coronation on May 6, although they have received an invitation. There has been no actual conversation between the Sussexes and their royal family for some time, we’re told.
A Sussex spokesperson confirmed to the Sunday Times: “I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s office regarding the coronation. An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.”
We have reached out to Buckingham Palace and Sussex spokesperson for comment.
The couple is still believed to be debating what the best course of action is after a palace insider told Page Six, “Whatever happens, Harry and Meghan will always be the ones in the headlines.
“Whether they come or they stay at home in California, they do hold the upper hand.”