Meghan Markle is almost due and let’s face it, a royal baby is always big news. After all, from the moment Prince Harry and Meghan announced that they were expecting back in October 2018, the story has been on the public eye almost every day. Meghan also celebrated a grand baby shower with all her friends recently. It’s clear that everyone is ready to welcome the new bundle of joy.
There are of course a lot of unresolved questions before the baby arrives. What will be the gender? What about the name? And so on. But there’s one thing that’s actually more interesting than others.
Will the baby have a title? The answer is yes, but there’s no protocol to decide it. Although the royal family is steeped with tradition, it seems like they didn’t think about this one that much.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s baby will be the seventh in life for the throne. He or she will be following Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and of course Prince Harry. It’s, however, unlikely that he or she will ever ascend to the throne. This is probably because they are so many people already in line and unless there are many tragic incidents, it’s safe to say that the baby will probably never be king or queen.
So, what will the title be? The most obvious one will be either prince or princess. In fact, the queen issued a patent in 2012 noting that all Prince Williams and Kate Middleton’s children will be referred to as prince or princess. We have not yet seen a ruling like that for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. If for any reason the title of prince or princess is not available, then it’s likely that the baby will be known as the Earl of Dumbarton. The baby may also be given a Duke title. If the baby is a girl, she will be known as a Lady. But the queen still has a lot of power on the title. She will ultimately have the final say on the course of action to be taken.
The titles don’t matter because the baby will be royal either way. Whether he or she is a lady, a prince, a princess, or a duke, one thing is for sure, he or she will get the royal treatment. However, Prince Harry and Meghan have said that they will work hard to make sure that their baby gets a normal upbringing. They are in fact in the process of renovating Frogmore Cottage, a modest royal residence in the countryside where they will presumably raise their kids. This is actually far from the lavish environment that Prince William and Kate Middleton’s kids are being raised in.
It’s also possible that Prince Harry and Meghan will raise all their kids away from the public eye. Besides, there’s little chance that the baby will ever ascend to the throne and this means that he or she will get less responsibility in the royal palace. The baby could go on to do his or her own things that are different from the traditions that we have been used to see.
