Prince Harry and wife Meghan lost most of their titles when they stepped down from the royal family – but there is one they retain that they have decided not to pass on to son Archie over ‘bullying’ fears
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle lost a number of titles and patronages following their decision to step down from the royal family in January 2020.
The couple are still called the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but are no longer addressed as his or her royal highness (HRH). Harry also gave up his military titles as he set up life in California with his wife. But there is one very unusual title they still retain – the Earl and Countess of Dumbarton.
The Earl and Countess of Dumbarton are titles in the peerage of the United Kingdom, referring to Dumbarton in Scotland. The late Queen handed them to Harry and Meghan on the occasion of their wedding. But it seems the couple have decided not to pass it on to their son Archie for one main reason.
The word ‘dumb’ is commonly used as a slang word in the US, where the family of four are now based, meaning ‘stupid’ or ‘daft’ .A source previously told the Telegraph: “They didn’t like the idea of [Prince] Archie being called the Earl of Dumbarton because it began with the word ‘dumb’. They were worried about how that might look.”
Although it was previously thought that Meghan was the only one worried, another source said that it was also Harry that had concerns: “It wasn’t just Meghan who pointed out the potential pitfalls, it also bothered Harry.” It comes after it was revealed that Meghan made a major change to Archie’s birth certificate in an unprecedented move.
Archie was born on May 6, 2019, and his birth was registered 11 days later before an amendment was made on June 5. The birth papers no longer show ‘Rachel Meghan’ as his mum and instead read ‘Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex’. The unusual change occurred as rumours were growing of a rift between Harry, brother William and their partners, The Sun reports . It was claimed that the move was a snub to the Prince and Princess of Wales since all three of their children have Kate’s names on their birth certificates.
It may also be viewed as Harry placing Meghan at equals with his mum Princess Diana who always used ‘Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales’. Royal expert Ingrid Seward said of the move: “For a royal to change a birth certificate is unprecedented but to remove forenames is remarkable. Perhaps this is another sign they were desperate to do something different to the Cambridges.”
Days after the changes were made, Harry and Meghan walked away from the Fab Four’s joint charity and within months had quit the Royal family . The caustic split from the royals was dubbed ‘Megxit’ by commentators. Harry and Meghan have since moved to North America and welcomed their second child, Lilibet.
