The Duke of Sussex spoke emotionally about his unhappiness growing up in a Royal Family in which his future was mapped out before him, and declared that he wanted to ‘break the cycle’ of ‘genetic pain’ for his own children.
He suggested in 2021 that he had moved to the US with his wife Meghan to ensure that his own childhood experiences were not repeated. He said he realised in his 20s that he did not want the royal ‘job’, having seen what it did to his mother, Princess Diana, and wrote in his tawdry memoirs, Spare, about the struggle of having a predetermined role in life.
So imagine the astonishment of Prince Harry’s old friends and family members to learn that he and his wife are already apparently planning a public role for their children, Archie, six, and Lilibet, four.
Before Christmas there was evidence of the pair’s plans when they announced changes to their charitable foundation. ‘After five beautiful years, the Archewell Foundation is becoming Archewell Philanthropies,’ the statement said. ‘This charitable entity allows the couple and their children to expand upon their global philanthropic endeavours as a family.’
Part of that statement that was little noticed yet hugely significant was the Sussexes’ inclusion of their children. It was the first time that they have been mentioned in such a bulletin on the couple’s plans.
And one old friend of Harry has been left bemused. ‘I am genuinely confused,’ he tells me. ‘Harry and Meghan were always so insistent that their children would be able to make their own way in life without the pressure of expectations or titles. I can’t believe Harry is behind this. It must be Meghan’s influence.’
Harry and Meghan appear to have had a change of heart about the role of their children
It wasn’t just the Archewell statement that has led people to believe the Sussexes want to give their children a higher public profile. On the same day that the statement was issued, Meghan posted a family photograph on social media alongside a Christmas message. It featured the clearest image yet of their children. Archie was seen hugging his father while Meghan was bending down and holding hands with Lilibet as they stood in a sun-dappled forest on a small, wooden bridge.
Separately, they also released a Christmas card and end-of-year video highlighting their charitable endeavours, which featured the children helping their parents bake cookies ahead of Thanksgiving with a local charity.
Harry and Meghan have campaigned on the dangers of social media and recently welcomed its ban for children in Australia. However, they have increasingly featured their own offspring in online posts since Meghan started trying to make a fortune with As Ever, her lifestyle mail-order company.
The confusion of Harry’s friend about the Sussexes’ intentions for their children is matched by that of former courtiers, who recall that they were told Archie would not have a title when he was born amid much secrecy in London in 2019. Journalists were told that Meghan had just gone into labour when she had, in fact, already given birth at Portland Hospital. Favoured reporters, such as the couple’s sycophantic biographer Omid Scobie, were told that the baby wouldn’t be called a prince or have any other title to avoid his growing up burdened by the weight of expectation.
‘As we expected, Harry and Meghan [have] forgone a courtesy title for their child,’ Scobie declared on Twitter (now X). ‘All part of giving him as normal a life as possible.’
The couple clearly had a radical change of heart after they moved to the US. Following their daughter Lilibet’s christening in March 2023, they announced that she would be known as a princess, and her older brother would be Prince Archie.
The couple’s children have often featured on their social media feeds
The move was co-ordinated with the Royal Family, who promptly updated their official website to replace the titles of ‘Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor’ and ‘Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor’ on the line of succession page.
A spokesman for the Sussexes said: ‘The children’s titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch. This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace.’
It’s hard not to escape the conclusion that the couple thought their children having prince and princess titles could be gold dust in future commercial projects.
The Establishment plot to return Harry and Meghan to Britain is gathering pace, as I have previously reported. Later this month, there will be a decision on whether the couple receive taxpayer-funded police protection when they visit the UK.
Despite the duke losing his High Court appeal in May on this very issue, a new risk assessment is currently under way – something for which Harry has long campaigned.
If Ravec – the committee that decides which royals and VIPs need public protection and whose chair is appointed by the Home Office – decides in favour of the Sussexes, their children will come here for the first time in four years.
Then, Harry’s attempts to establish a rival ‘royal’ court in his homeland will begin in earnest. This could seriously undermine the Royal Family and is a prospect that should leave monarchists deeply alarmed.
