Is royal baby Archie a Prince? Where is Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s son in the line of succession?

The new royal baby has been introduced to the world 
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Megan C. Hills8 May 2019

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced the arrival of their baby son. Prince Harry said they were "absolutely thrilled" and thanked well-wishers.

Today, Prince Harry and Meghan posed for photographs in Windsor Castle and revealed their newborn son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world. According to royal reporter Rebecca English, he won't have a title and will instead go by Master Archie. Fellow Royal reporter Victoria Murphy tweeted that "it's worth remembering that when Prince Charles becomes King Archie will be eligible to be styled as a Prince should Harry and Meghan wish this."

The new parents introduced Archie to Queen Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh, while Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland looked on proudly.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their baby son, who was born last month
Dominic Lipinski/PA

The arrival of Meghan and Harry's baby is set to shake up the line of succession. With his father Prince Harry sixth in line for the British throne, here’s how the now royal baby changes the line-up.

What is the royal line of succession now?

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While previously male siblings in the Royal Family took precedence over their sisters, a 2013 law called The Succession to the Crown Act decreed that "it ends the system of male preference under which a younger son displaces an elder daughter in the line of succession". The law also allowed anyone who marries a Roman Catholic to keep their place in the line of succession, as well as repealing something called the Royal Marriages Act 1772.

The law only applied to those born after October 2011, but it’s already had an impact. If the act hadn’t come into place, Princess Charlotte would have had to forfeit her place in line to her younger brother Prince Louis when he was born last year.

Here is the line of succession:

1. Prince of Wales (Prince Charles)

2. Duke of Cambridge (Prince William)

3. Prince George of Cambridge

4. Princess Charlotte of Cambridge

5. Prince Louis of Cambridge

6. Duke of Sussex (Prince Harry)

7. Baby Sussex

8. Duke of York (Prince Andrew)

9. Princess Beatrice of York

10. Princess Eugenie of York

11. The Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward)

12. Viscount Severn (Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor)

13. The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor

14. The Princess Royal (Princess Anne)

15. Mr. Peter Phillips

16. Miss Savannah Phillips

17. Miss Isla Phillips

18. Mrs. Michael Tindall​

Where is the Royal Baby in line for the throne?

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Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and their father Prince Andrew, are now booted one rung down after the arrival of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s child. The new Baby Sussex falls seventh in the line of succession, after his father Prince Harry, a spot which Prince Andrew currently holds.

Prince Andrew will now fall into eighth place, with Princess Beatrice as ninth and Princess Eugenie tenth.

How will Meghan Markle’s baby related to the Queen?

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Meghan Markle’s baby is the newest great-grandson of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, through Meghan’s husband Prince Harry. Prince Harry’s father Prince Charles and stepmother Camilla Parker-Bowles are the baby's grandparents on the royal side, while Meghan Markle’s mother Doria Ragland and estranged father Thomas Markle Sr. are maternal grandparents.

Kate Middleton and Prince William are aunt and uncle to the child, meaning their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are all cousins.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s child is the eighth of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s great grandchildren, who also include the Cambridges’ three children, Zara and Mike Tindall’s two daughters and Peter Philips’ two daughters Savannah and Isla.

Will Baby Sussex be a Prince?

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Even though Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children all have a prince or princess title to their name, it doesn’t seem likely Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son will. This is because King George V introduced a stipulation that only children of the King or Queen, children of the King or Queen’s sons and only the eldest living son of the Prince of Wales were eligible for titles.

King George V said, “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”.

Instead, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children will have different titles. The proud parents have chosen not to use courtesy titles at this time, but when Prince Charles becomes King, Archie could become Prince Archie.

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