Archie will have to abide by royal wedding rule when Charles is King - but Lilibet won't
ARCHIE Mountbatten-Windsor hasn't spent a lot of time with the Royal Family since he moved with his parents to the US in 2020. But the royal tot remains high in the line of succession to the throne, so he will likely remain bound by a royal marriage rule when he is older.
Meghan Markle 'happy' for Archie to not have title says expert
Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, 3, may not have a royal title, but he remains the great-grandson of the Queen and a grandson and nephew of two respective future Kings. As such, he is likely to be affected by a specific royal rule when he is older that his little sister Lilibet, 1, won't need to pay heed to.
The Succession to the Crown Act (2013) was implemented to replace the system of male-preference primogeniture in the British monarchy, but it also included stipulations on royal marriages. According to Act, Archie will be required to ask the permission of the Sovereign if he decides to get married in the future, or he could lose his place in the line of succession.
The legislation stipulates that if a royal fails to seek the monarch's permission then "the person and the person’s descendants from the marriage are disqualified from succeeding to the Crown".
READ MORE: Meghan and Harry offered 'big pay deal' for Jubilee interview
As Prince Harry's children, Archie and Lilibet are currently seventh and eighth in line to the throne respectively. But when Prince Charles is King, the next six people in the line of succession, as it currently stands, will be Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Harry and Archie.
As seventh in line to the throne, Lilibet will be free to marry whomever she likes without obtaining her grandfather Charles or Uncle William's permission beforehand.
Rules regarding royal marriages have been in place for centuries, with the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 enabling royal marriages to be decreed void if they were seen to negatively affect the Royal House.
Related articles
Will Archie ever get a royal title?
When Prince Charles is King, Archie and his sister Lilibet will both be grandchildren of the monarch through the male line. Under the Letters Patent issued by King George V in 1917, this means Archie and Lilibet would usually be entitled to Prince or Princess titles and HRH status.
Whether or not Archie and Lilibet will receive title changes is an issue for the reign of King Charles. But if these changes aren't forthcoming, Archie could receive a title through his father in the future.
The Queen created the Dukedom of Sussex for Prince Harry when he married Meghan Markle in 2018 and, as his elder child, Archie is the next in line to inherit the title. As he was not created a Prince by the Queen, Archie was eligible to take one of Harry's subsidiary titles, meaning he could have been known as the Earl of Dumbarton from birth.
DON'T MISS:
Lilibet and Archie tipped to receive title from Prince Charles [INSIGHT]
Kate and William's invite to Lilibet birthday branded 'really unfair' [ANALYSIS]
Royal engagement rings in pictures - Which one is your favourite? [PICTURES]
But royal fans were surprised when it was announced that Harry and Meghan's firstborn would be known simply as 'Master Archie', in a bid for him to lead his life as a private citizen.
As the daughter of a Duke, Lilibet was also eligible to be styled as a Lady, but she remains without a title like her elder brother.
Town&Country contributing editor and royal expert Victoria Murphy explained: "As the daughter of a Duke, [Lili] could use Lady before her name just as Archie would have been entitled to use the courtesy title Earl of Dumbarton. However, Harry and Meghan have chosen not to use these styles for either of their children when they announced their names to the world.
"When they did this for Archie, it was widely interpreted that they wanted him to have a normal life and were shunning the formalities a title can bring."