Prince Harry Wants His Kids to Have the Option to Be Working Royals

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left working royal life behind in 2020, many assumed they would never want to return—or want their children to be working royals.

However, a new report in The Guardian throws doubt onto that assumption. The story details their efforts to get UK passports for their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with the last name “Sussex” and the titles HRH (His/Her Royal Highness). Archie’s passport was initially issued as Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, but when King Charles became monarch, his grandchildren became “Prince” and “Princess,” and a few months later, Harry and Meghan indicated their intent to use the titles for their kids. “The children’s titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch,” a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said at the time.

There was reportedly a delay in issuing UK passports for Archie and Lili. “There was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids,” a source “close to the Sussexes” told the Guardian, adding that “the king hadn’t wanted Archie and Lili to carry the titles, most of all the HRH, and the British passports, once created, would be the first and perhaps the only legal proof of their names.”

The paper adds, “The Guardian understands that Prince Harry wants to keep the HRH titles for his children so that when they grow older they can decide for themselves whether they want to become working royals, or stay out of public life.” Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prince Harry told the Guardian, “We do not comment on private issues pertaining to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children.”

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Harry and Meghan no longer use HRH publicly as part of their “Sandringham Summit” agreement with Queen Elizabeth, with Buckingham Palace staying in a statement, “The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.” It recently emerged that Meghan still uses HRH privately.

The number of working royals has dwindled in recent years, with only just 11 current working members of the royal family: King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra. The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, due to their age, rarely carry our engagements anymore.