Buckingham Palace refers to Archie and Lilibet as Prince and Princess

• Buckingham Palace has updated its website to reflect new titles for two of the youngest royals.
• From Thursday, Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor are known as a “prince” and “princess”.
• It comes six months after they technically inherited the titles when King Charles became monarch.

Buckingham Palace referred to Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor as prince and princess for the first time, six months after they technically inherited the titles.

On Thursday, the line of succession on the royal website was updated to reflect the official titles of the young royals. Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, have gone from being referred to as “Master” and “Miss” to “Prince” and “Princess” respectively, and are now listed as Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children are sixth and seventh in line to the throne, after their father. Also in front are their cousins, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, all of whom have been referred to by their current titles since birth due to their father, Prince William, being heir to the throne.

Buckingham Palace’s updated reference comes after Harry and Meghan mentioned Lilibet’s title in a statement about her recent christening.

In a statement to Insider on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they could “confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was baptized on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Most Reverend John Taylor.”

Although it took six months for Archie and Lilibet’s titles to be reflected on the website, the couple technically inherited the titles of prince and princess when King Charles, their grandfather, became monarch in September 2022.

This is due to a law established by King George V in 1917, known as the Letters Patent, which dictates that all royals who are either children or grandchildren of the sovereign through the male line can bear the titles of prince and princess.

According to the Tatler, the decree reads: “The children of every sovereign of the United Kingdom and the children of the sons of every such sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales shall have and for all time hold and enjoy the style, title or the attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity as prince or princess before their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honor.”

Buckingham Palace’s public recognition of Archie and Lilibet’s titles also comes after Meghan previously said in her March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey that there was talk of denying Archie a princely title, suggesting this was due to race. The comments came ahead of the birth of Lilibet, who was born in June 2021.

At one point in the interview, Markle told Winfrey that while she was pregnant, “they said” — possibly the members of the royal household — that they didn’t want him to be a prince…which would be different from protocol.”

A statement released by Buckingham Palace on behalf of the late Queen Elizabeth II after the interview said that “the whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.”

It added: “The issues raised, particularly race, are troubling. Although some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be dealt with by the family privately.”

Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.