Do Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Children Have Royal Titles Now That Their Grandfather Is King?

With their grandfather becoming monarch, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's two children have royal titles.

Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth on Friday, Harry's father became King Charles III — and as grandchildren of the monarch, 3-year-old Archie Harrison and 1-year-old Lilibet Diana have inherited the titles of prince and princess.

The children did not receive the titles when they were born because they were great-grandchildren of the monarch. However, their cousins — Prince William and Kate Middleton's three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — did get the titles as the children of the eldest son of the (now former) Prince of Wales.

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Getty Prince Harry, Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Meghan Markle

The rule was established by King George V after he issued a Letters Patent in 1917 that read: "…the grandchildren of the sons of any such sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of these our realms."

As monarch, King Charles III can change that rule, but it's unlikely he'll choose to do so.

Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Prince Charles

A source previously told PEOPLE: "Archie will almost certainly become a prince one day. Charles isn't going to disavow his grandson, so it's hugely unlikely that he'll change the rules to stop it happening. The Charles also isn't going to say that Archie can't use the title any time soon."

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The other question is if Prince Harry, 37, and Meghan, 41, will want their children to have these titles.

"As the grandchildren of the Sovereign, they have the right to be upgraded to the style of His or Her Royal Highness. But that begs a question of whether Harry and Meghan want that," Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, previously told PEOPLE.

Little continued: "Do they prefer what [Prince] Edward and Sophie have, and not have their children as Their Royal Highnesses with a view to them leading relatively normal lives?"

Samir Hussein/WireImage

For more on the Royal Family's official titles, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

Princess Anne also refused titles for her two children, Peter and Zara. "Zara always says she's so pleased she wasn't given a title," Phil Tindall, the father of her husband, Mike Tindall, previously told the Sunday Times, adding that the lack of a title has enabled Zara and brother "to live their own lives."

When Prince Harry and Meghan were married in May 2018, the Queen gave them the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Archie was entitled to the "courtesy title" of Earl of Dumbarton upon his birth. However, the couple announced that they had not given him a courtesy title and he would be known as Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Down the line, Archie could be given the secondary Sussex title, before inheriting the dukedom.

Following Queen Elizabeth's death and King Charles' first speech as monarch, where he named Camilla his Queen Consort and his son Prince William and daughter-in-law Kate as the new Prince and Princess of Wales, the royal family changed their website's line of succession to reflect the title changes.

Kate and William's three children — who are now the second, third, and fourth in line to the throne — went from being Princes and Princess of Cambridge to being Princes and Princess of Wales. Therefore, they are now Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Louis of Wales.

However, Archie and Lili were included without new titles. They are styled as "Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor" and "Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor."

Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

During Meghan and Prince Harry's 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex revealed there was a conversation about titles ahead of Archie's birth.

"They were saying they didn't want him to be a prince or princess, which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn't going to receive security," Meghan said. "This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy where I was going, hold on for a second."

Meghan went on to say she would have accepted a title for Archie if it "meant he was going to be safe."

"And it's not our decision to make," she said. "Even though I have a lot of clarity of what comes with the titles good and bad...that is their birthright to then make a choice about."

The couple relocated to California after stepping back as senior members of the royal family. They were in Europe this week for a series of visits with longstanding charities, and Prince Harry traveled to Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Thursday, where the Queen died.

Chris Jackson/Getty; Taylor Hill/WireImage

In his first speech as monarch, King Charles mentioned his younger son and daughter-in-law.

"I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas," he said.