10 March 2023 , 20:52
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been shown that having royal titles has no perks without responsibility, a royal biographer has said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex asked their spokesperson to announce when their 21-month-old daughter Lilibet was christened in Los Angeles last week.
And for the first time, when making the announcement Harry and Meghan revealed their daughter is now a princess.
The Sussexes' children became Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet Diana when Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022 and their grandfather became King Charles III - but before the christening announcement, they had never been referred to in public as prince and princess.
According to Ingrid Seward, Editor in Chief of Majesty magazine, Harry and Meghan were hoping that Buckingham Palace would announce their children's new titles before they did - which did not happen.
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Princess Lilibet has been christened, Harry and Meghan said (Misan Harriman/Duke and Duchess of Sussex HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
The Sussexes' children Lilibet and Archie are now Princess and Prince (alexilubomirski/Instagram)In contrast, the Palace issued a statement today to announce that Prince Edward is now Duke of Edinburgh and his wife Sophie has become Duchess of Edinburgh.
Ms Seward said the Palace left their website intact and did not mention that Archie and Lilibet are prince and princess before Harry and Meghan announced it themselves so that "they wouldn't complain".
The royal expert told The Mirror: "The contrast between the way in which Harry and Meghan released the news of their children's royal titles and the way King Charles announced his brother's ennoblement was stark.
"King Charles issued a formal statement from Buckingham Palace to say he was ‘pleased’ to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar.
Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of King Charles to announce Prince Edward's new title (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)"It was such a grand announcement it felt as if it were in a gilded frame pinned to the Buckingham Palace railings.
"Harry and Meghan, on the other hand, asked their spokesperson to announce when their 21-month-old daughter Lilibet was christened in Los Angeles last week she would be baptised using the royal style princess. Archie in turn would use the style, Prince.
"They have been allowed to use this style since their great-grandmother died, but their parents have chosen not to until now."
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh in Scotland today (Getty Images)Ms Seward added: "How interesting they waited six months to do this. They were hoping the Palace would jump the gun and announce it before they did. No such luck.
"Buckingham Palace left their website intact and allowed the Sussexes to make the move themselves so they couldn’t complain.
"It is so much easier to do things in the traditional style. Edward knew he was going to get the title as his late father had requested, he should. The King bided his time until the moment was right. Edward’s birthday two months before the coronation was the perfect moment.
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The new Duke of Edinburgh speaking in the City Chambers in Edinburgh during an event to mark one year since the city's formal response to the invasion of Ukraine (PA)"Beforehand might have been too close to the late Queen’s death on September 8 last year. Any later and it might have had to wait until the day of the Coronation.
"The royal website was updated a couple of days after the Sussexes' announcement. No one is going to push the traditions of the monarchy aside.
"Wanting the perks without the responsibility never works. Archie and Lilibet will learn this one day and then make their own choices."
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said: "I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor."
Lilibet is said to have been christened last Friday at her home in Montecito, California, with around 20 to 30 people in attendance for the celebration.
Among those at the intimate gathering were said to be Meghan's mother Doria Ragland, Lilibet's godfather Tyler Perry and an unnamed godmother.