Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has expressed hope that his children – Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet – will have the freedom to choose their own futures, including the option of becoming working royals one day. However, insider reports suggested this may not be possible under Prince William’s reign.
Though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle retained their HRH titles after stepping back as senior royals in 2020, Buckingham Palace clarified at the time: “The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.”
After King Charles III acceded to the throne in 2022, Archie and Lilibet began using their prince and princess titles.
Interest in the Sussexes’ royal titles was renewed on April 28, 2025, when Meghan appeared on “The Jamie Kern Lima Show.” Host Jamie Kern Lima shared that Meghan once sent her a gift basket with a note reading, “With compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex,” placed under her royal cipher. Although Meghan and Harry do not use HRH titles for public or commercial purposes, their formal titles remain. In this instance, the note was part of a personal gift exchanged over a year ago.
Harry and Meghan were bestowed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles by the late Queen Elizabeth II upon their 2018 wedding. In a PEOPLE cover story in early 2025, Meghan reflected on the significance of their title.
“It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children,” she said, adding, “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”
On “The Drew Barrymore Show” in March 2025, she was addressed as “Meghan Sussex,” and similarly remarked in her Netflix show “With Love, Meghan” that “this is our family name, our little family name.”
According to The Guardian, Prince Harry said he wanted his children with Meghan – Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4 – to retain their HRH titles, offering them the option of future royal roles or private lives.
However, on June 21, 2025, The Sunday Times reported in a piece tied to Prince William’s 43rd birthday that there was “bemusement in royal circles” at this idea. It stated that roles for the Sussex children were unlikely under William’s reign.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Prince Harry responded:
“We do not comment on private issues pertaining to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children.”
The Sunday Times also quoted a friend of Prince William’s who said that his mindset has changed. The insider said:
“What has struck me the most recently is that he just doesn’t mention it at all… It used to be that the family stuff was taking up a lot of space in his head… But he’s not letting it get to him at all anymore. It is a change. It’s sad, but it’s a much healthier space for him to be at.”
The Guardian also reported that passport applications for Archie and Lilibet were delayed for nearly six months because they were submitted with HRH titles. A legal source noted British officials were “dragging their feet,” reportedly frustrating the Sussexes.
“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,” a source claimed.
The Daily Telegraph reported Buckingham Palace strongly denied any royal involvement in the delay. Meanwhile, The Guardian wrote that Harry even considered using the Spencer surname after consulting his uncle, Earl Charles Spencer.
