Why Meghan Markle Won't Be a Princess (But She'll Still Live in a Palace!)

Don’t look for Princess Meghan anytime soon.

Now that Meghan Markle is engaged to Prince Harry, her royal title is one of the key issues to sort out. Unlike Kate Middleton, however, she will not be given a princess title — but the Duchess of Sussex could be just the right fit.

When Kate married Prince William, the couple received their royal titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. As the next in line to the throne behind Prince Charles, William is expected to become the Prince of Wales — and Kate, therefore, the Princess of Wales — when Charles ascends the throne. (Princess Diana, of course, was previously the Princess of Wales.)

Harry is fifth in line to the throne and will slide down to sixth after William and Kate’s third baby arrives in April 2018. Most insiders believe that if the Queen hands him a royal dukedom, like Prince William received upon his 2011 wedding, Prince Harry will be made the Duke of Sussex on his own wedding day. That would make Meghan the Duchess of Sussex, mirroring Kate’s title of the Duchess of Cambridge.

Other options include the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the Duke of Connaught and the Duke of Windsor — but considering that the last Duke of Windsor (Edward VIII) abdicated the throne to marry his divorced American wife, that seems unlikely.

‘Unless they create a new title for them, I think the Duke of Sussex is the most likely title,” says Joe Little of Majesty magazine. “Otherwise, Meghan would be known as Princess Henry of Wales and people wouldn’t not understand that these days. But they may surprise us.”

As for where the newlyweds will live, Clarence House confirmed on Monday that they will settle in Nottingham Cottage, Harry’s two-bedroom residence at Kensington Palace in London, where staff already know Markle. In a similar fashion, Prince William and Kate Middleton lived together at St. Andrews University and then at a secluded farmhouse in North Wales briefly before they wed in April 2011. There has been speculation that one day Harry will move into Apartment 1 at the palace, which has 21 rooms and is currently the home of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

• With reporting by SIMON PERRY