Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Baby Won't Be a Prince or Princess

However, Queen Elizabeth II could make a special exception for the royal couple

By Zach Johnson Oct 15, 2018 1:00 PMTags
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Royal Wedding, ReceptionSteve Parsons/PA Wire

Prince Harry has long wanted to be a father.

"Of course, I would love to have kids right now, but there is a process that one has to go through," the Duke of Sussex, then 30, told Sky News in a May 2015 interview. "It would be great to have someone else next to me, but the time will come. Whatever happens, happens."

He gave that quote over a year before he met Meghan Markle on a blind date. He proposed to her in November 2017, and tied the knot at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Today, Kensington Palace announced the newlyweds are expecting a baby in the spring of 2019. The Duchess of Sussex is said to be 12 weeks along in her pregnancy, and the couple has yet to reveal the sex of their child—or if they've decided to find out before his or her arrival.

At this point, it's too soon to say whether the couple's firstborn will receive a title. Because  Harry's great-great-grandfather, King George V, limited titles within the royal family in 1917, his first son would become Earl of Dumbarton, one of the subsidiary titles he received from Queen Elizabeth II on his wedding day. A daughter would be Lady [First Name] Mountbatten-Windsor, and any subsequent sons would be Lord [First Name] Mounbatten-Windsor. But, the Queen could make an exception to allow their kids to receive HRH titles.

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Baby Sussex will supersede Prince Andrew in the royal line of succession, regardless of gender or sex, following a 2011 law change that granted the same status to daughters and sons. The line of succession will be as follows: Prince Charles; Prince William; Prince George; Princess Charlotte; Prince Louis; Harry; Baby Sussex; Andrew; Princess Beatrice; Princess Eugenie; Prince Edward; James, Viscount Severn; Lady Louise Windsor; Princess Anne; Peter Phillips; Savannah Phillips; Isla Phillips; Zara Tindall; Mia Tindall; and Lena Tindall. Commoners who married into the royal family—like Jack Brooksbank, Meghan, Kate Middleton, Camilla Parker-Bowles and Mike Tindall—are excluded. Harry and Meghan shared their baby news privately at the royal wedding, and the family are said to be "delighted" for duo.

Kensington Palace told E! News in a statement Monday Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, is "very happy about this lovely news" and she "looks forward to welcoming her first grandchild."