Prince Harry and his wife Meghan announced Wednesday that their daughter had been christened in a private ceremony in California, publicly calling her a princess and revealing for the first time that they will use royal titles for their children.
Princess Lilibet Diana, who turns two in June, was baptized on Friday by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor, Harry and Meghan said in a statement. LilibetB次元官网网址檚 title and that of her brother, Archie, who will be four in May, will be updated on the Buckingham Palace website later.
The announcement marked the first time that the childrenB次元官网网址檚 titles had been used in public.
The question of the childrenB次元官网网址檚 titles took center stage two years ago during Harry and MeghanB次元官网网址檚 television interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan, who is biracial, said that when she was pregnant with Archie B次元官网网址渢heyB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� presumably the palace B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渨ere saying they didnB次元官网网址檛 want him to be a prince B次元官网网址� which would be different from protocol.B次元官网网址�
Meghan suggested that this was because Archie was the royal familyB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渇irst member of colorB次元官网网址� and would have marked the first time a royal grandchild wasnB次元官网网址檛 given the same title as the other grandchildren.
At the time, royal experts said MeghanB次元官网网址檚 comments appeared to be based on a misunderstanding of the way royal titles are conferred.
Titles are conferred in line with a decree issued by King George V in 1917 that limits the titles of prince and princess to the male-line grandchildren of the sovereign.
As long as the late Queen Elizabeth II was alive, Harry and his older brother, Prince William, were the sovereignB次元官网网址檚 grandchildren. Harry and WilliamB次元官网网址檚 children, as great grandchildren, didnB次元官网网址檛 receive the titles automatically.
But Elizabeth had the power to amend the rules, and in 2012 she decreed that the children of Prince William and his wife, Catherine, would be princes and princesses. This decree didnB次元官网网址檛 apply to Harry and Meghan.
However, the situation changed when King Charles III ascended the throne on the death of his mother last September. William and Harry are the kingB次元官网网址檚 sons, meaning their offspring are now royal grandchildren and so entitled to be known as prince and princess.
Nonetheless, they have remained a plain B次元官网网址渕asterB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渕issB次元官网网址� on the Buckingham Palace website for the past six months.
By By Danica Kirka
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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