Queen Elizabeth Had To Overturn Historic Rule For Prince Louis' Name, HRH Title
Prince Louis would have had a very different official name and title had his late great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II not stepped in and changed a historic royal rule.
Upon his birth on April 23, 2018, Prince William and Kate Middleton's third and youngest child was formally known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. His parents went by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the time.
Prince Louis' full name is Louis Arthur Charles, and he has no surname.
However, if a rule established by Queen Elizabeth's grandfather King George V in 1917 had been followed, Prince Louis' official title and name would have been Master Louis Cambridge or Master Louis Windsor, according to Mirror U.K.
Under King George V's 1917 rule, titles were automatically given to only the royals closest to the top of the line of succession.
Those who could automatically use the style HRH and the title of prince or princess were limited to the children of the monarch and the children of the sons of the monarch, according to the ruling.
The eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales also enjoys this privilege, according to etiquette and behavior coaching company Debrett's.
As the great-grandson of then-monarch Queen Elizabeth II and second son of his father Prince William, Prince Louis did not meet these requirements upon his birth.
However, Queen Elizabeth overturned the royal title rule for Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, allowing Prince William and Princess Kate's two youngest children to be styled prince and princess like their older brother Prince George.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children Archie and Lilibet did not automatically receive the titles of prince and princess when they were born in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
As great-grandchildren of the monarch, they were formally known as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
But after Queen Elizabeth's death and King Charles' accession to the throne in 2022, they became grandchildren of the monarch and therefore entitled to royal titles.
In March 2023, the children's names were updated on the British royal family's website to reflect their new titles: Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex.
Queen Elizabeth's passing also caused changes in the titles of Prince William and Princess Kate's family.
The couple officially became the Prince and Princess of Wales, while their three children are now formally known as Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and Prince Louis of Wales.
