Meghan Markle, 38, and Prince Harry, 35, have settled in Los Angeles with their son Archie Harrison since stepping down as working royals at the end of March. Meghan and Harry refused to give their one-year-old son an official title following his birth on May 6, 2019, and it is understood they plan to raise him as a private citizen.
While Archie is likely to grow up across the Atlantic from his royal relatives he is still set to inherit a royal title from his father Prince Harry.
Prince Harry is Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson and sixth in line to the throne, despite his step away from the royal bubble Harry has kept his place in the line of succession as well as his HRH title.
In keeping with royal custom, the Queen gave Harry a dukedom on his wedding day and he and Meghan became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
While the couple have not lost their HRH titles since ceasing to be working royals, it was agreed with the Queen they would not use them going forward.
The laws around hereditary peerages mean that despite his parents’ apparent wish to distance Archie from the trappings of royal life, he is still likely to inherit his father’s Duke of Sussex title following Prince Harry’s death.
One royal expert has explained how Archie is destined to become the next Duke of Sussex.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk: “When Archie was born Harry and Meghan did not want him to use a title though he could have taken his father’s subsidiary title of Earl of Dumbarton.
“However his parents wanted him to have as normal a life as possible and grow up as a private citizen.
“It is anticipated that Archie will be brought up in America and he may well broadly have an outlook which shares the views of his parents.”
He added: “They place more importance on what they see as independence than on the trappings of royalty.”
Following their royal withdrawal, Meghan and Harry have entered a trial period in which they will seek to become financially independent from the Crown.
The terms of their royal exit agreement will be reviewed by the Queen in one year’s time but from Spring 2020 they are no longer expected to use the word ‘royal’ in conjunction with their work nor go by their HRH titles.
Mr Fitzwilliams added: “At present, at least until the arrangement with the Queen is reassessed next year, they can keep their titles but cannot use them, which is not what they originally wanted as stepping back as a working royal meant stepping down.
“However, their brand undoubtedly has worldwide appeal.”
Mr Fitzwilliams claims Archie will one day become the Duke of Sussex in spite of his “egalitarian upbringing.”
He said: “Archie will undoubtedly have an egalitarian upbringing.
“Yet one day he will succeed to the Dukedom of Sussex.
“This royal dukedom was created in the 19th Century and became extinct in 1843 until the Queen recreated it and conferred it on Harry when he married Meghan.”
