BBC News Brazil
In the interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle commented on conversations that took place when she was pregnant about her future child’s status in the royal family, including the title he or she would receive.
“They were saying they didn’t want him to be a prince or a princess, not knowing what the gender would be which would be different from protocol,” the Duchess of Sussex said.
Meghan’s concern, as she detailed in the interview with the American host, went beyond the title itself and concerned the safety of her son – the level of protection afforded to members of the royal family is not the same for everyone.
WHAT DOES THE ROYAL PROTOCOL SAY?
The rules on who can be a prince and therefore eligible for treatment as His Royal Highness (HRH) come from a charter issued by King George 5 in November 1917.
The patent letter is a legal instrument that can take the form of an open letter from the monarch and can be used for true statements or for the granting of titles of nobility. In the 1917 letter, George 5th stated that the great-grandchildren of the monarch would no longer be princes or princesses except for the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.
In the current situation, this means that Prince George, son of Kate Middleton and Prince William, has automatically become a prince, but not Archie – the son of Harry and Meghan – although both are great-grandchildren. of the Queen.
According to this protocol, Prince George’s brothers – Charlotte and Louis – would not have received the title either. However, in December 2012, the Queen issued a charter stating that all of Prince William’s children would have the right to be princes or princesses and to receive the title of Her Royal Highness.
AND THE TITLE OF ARCHY?
According to the 1917 letter, Archie has the right to become a prince, but not now. According to the document, the sons of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would have to wait until Prince Charles becomes king, in which case they would become the monarch’s grandchildren and therefore have the right to be princes or princesses.
This is why Prince Andrew’s daughters – Beatrice and Eugenie – were princesses by birth, but August, the daughter’s son, Princess Eugênia, is not a prince.
The Duchess of Sussex was aware of the protocol. She spoke in the interview of a “George 5th or George 6th convention” which would mean that her son Archie would become a prince “when Harry’s father became king”.
But he went on to say that when she was pregnant he was told that “they want to change the convention for Archie” so that he doesn’t become a prince. She did not give further details about it and Buckingham Palace has not commented on the allegations.
THE INTERVIEW
In the long-awaited interview with American TV presenter Oprah Winfrey, Harry and Meghan spoke about racism, mental health, media treatment and other royalty. One of the main revelations was that an unidentified member of the royal family had reportedly expressed concern over the “dark color” of the couple’s son’s skin.
The statement was made by Meghan to Oprah and later confirmed by Harry in the same interview. Meghan also spoke about how lonely she felt after joining the royal family and losing her freedom. “When I joined this family, it was the last time, until our arrival here, that I saw my passport, my driving license, my keys, which were all given to them,” he said. -he declares.
She said her mental health had deteriorated so badly that she “didn’t want to be alive anymore.” Senior members of the British royal family gathered to discuss the crisis sparked by the interview.
BBC Royal Family reporter Daniela Relph said it was “increasingly unsustainable for Buckingham Palace to say nothing” about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s protests – she adds, however that a quick response to the crisis is unlikely.