A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has confirmed that the Duke and Duchess’s daughter Lili was christened a few days ago while using her royal title.
The statement reads, “I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.” Reverend John Taylor is actually the Bishop of Los Angeles.
The use of the title of Princess had long been thought not be in use, even though both Lili and her brother Archie are entitled to Prince(ss) before their Christian names under the current Letters Patent.
The 1917 Letters Patent state, “It is declared by the Letters Patent that the children of any Sovereign of the United Kingdom and the children of the sons of any such Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales shall have and at all times hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour.” This was amended in 2013 to include all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (namely The then Duke of Cambridge’s children, George, Charlotte and Louis), mainly because if George had been born a girl, she would have been “Lady” rather than “Princess,” while changes to make the succession gender neutral were already underway.1
Now that Charles is King, Archie and Lili are “the children of the sons of any such Sovereign” and are thus entitled to HRH Prince(ss). It is being reported that Buckingham Palace will update the official line of succession to include Lili and Archie’s titles.
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