The real reason Prince Harry and Meghan declined Archie’s ‘Earl’ title

Despite being the first-born son of a Duke, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle never intended their son, Arche, to receive the title of ‘Earl.’

As the heir to Prince Harry’s Scottish earldom, Archie might have been bestowed the title of Earl of Dumbarton when he was born.

However, Harry and Meghan chose to call their baby Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor in order for him to have a ‘regular’ life.

According to Sunday Times royal correspondent Roya Nikkah: “I was told when Harry and Meghan announced their pregnancy in Australia in 2018 that they did not want the Queen to vary the rules to make Archie a Prince.”

Talking on the documentary Harry and Meghan: The Week that Shook the Royals, Nikkah further said: “They were very happy for him not to have a title. They wanted him to be unencumbered by the restrictions that come with titles.”

As for Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine, Harry and Meghan rejecting the title of an Earl for Archie “could’ve been a part of their wider masterplan to step back as Royals.”

He told The Daily Express: “The fact Archie isn’t Earl of Dumbarton or styled HRH makes me wonder whether this wasn’t already part of a wider masterplan.”