Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Children Now Have Royal Titles
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle held a christening for their daughter Lilibet last Friday, with 20 to 30 guests attending the intimate gathering. The two children now have official royal titles and will be referred to as Prince and Princess. The one-year-old was christened last Friday at her home in Montecito, California. Among those at the intimate celebration were said to be Meghan's mother Doria Ragland, Lilibet's godfather Tyler Perry and an unnamed godmother reported Mirror. According to a source, Meghan, 41, and Harry, 38, extended an invite to King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, but they were not in attendance
When reached by People, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: "I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor." Following the ceremony, attendees enjoyed an afternoon of food and dancing, and Prince Archie danced with his little sister. A royal source explained that Lilibet's christened name will reflect on the websites soon. “As the duke and duchess have now confirmed this, the website will now be updated in due course.” It is the first time Lili has been publicly referred to as Princess.
She became entitled to become a princess when her grandfather King Charles acceded to the throne. The rules set out by King George V in 1917 mean Harry and Meghan's older son, Archie, and Lili, as the children of a son of a sovereign, are automatically a prince and a princess and also now have an HRH style if they choose to use it. However, it is understood that Lili's title of princess and Archie's title as a prince will be used in formal settings, but not in everyday conversational use by the couple. This is yet to be updated on the royal family website, where the children are still referred to as "miss" and "master." Harry and Meghan are understood to be keen to not deny their children their birthright but to allow them the chance to decide for themselves, when older, whether to drop or keep using the titles.
Tyler Perry was seen arriving in Montecito last week ahead of the event. The 53-year-old allowed the couple to stay in his house when they first arrived in the United States back in 2020. He was reportedly joined by a 10-person gospel choir, who performed Oh Happy Day and This Little Light of Mine following the ceremony. Perry revealed back in December that he was godfather to Lilibet, who was born on June 4, 2021, in Santa Barbara, California.
In the final episode of the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, Perry said that the two “were pretty serious on the phone” when they asked him, which was different from usual chats that were more lighthearted. “I go, ‘Okay, what’s going on?’ They said, ‘Well, we’d like for you to be Lili’s godfather.’ I go, ‘Whoa,’” said Perry. “I had to take a minute to take that in. And I thought, ‘I’d be honored. I’d absolutely be honored.'”
