Royal Expert: Growing Up In UK Could Save Archie & Lilibet's Titles From William's 'Chopping Block'

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan to move back to the U.K. as early as September 2026 caught us all by surprise. But according to Editor-in-Chief of Royal News Network Brittany Provance, their decision isn't actually that surprising. Beyond the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's financial worries and business setbacks of recent months, the royal couple's decision might also address the issue of the royal status of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who acquired their HRH titles after Queen Elizabeth II's death in 2022. 

When Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to the U.S. in 2020, they removed Archie and Lilibet from royal life and their U.K. family. This has worked fine thus far, but the picture may change once William, Prince of Wales ascends to the throne. " ... the couple can strengthen their children's connections to the Crown before King William's reign, when their titles and positions may be on the chopping block," Provance told Nicki Swift. 

The parents' possible worries about their kids' titles aren't unfounded. William may very well choose to strip the titles of non-working royals in an effort to slim down the monarchy. His vision for the future of the monarchy reportedly includes a smaller royal circle. In fact, King Charles III has already reduced the number of people who are next to him on the Buckingham Palace balcony, keeping it down to a select group.

Given that William, Prince of Wales chose to have his children use their HRH titles, it sounds like an important matter to him that may have also served as a reality check for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. "As it turns out, Harry and Meghan need the monarchy more than the monarchy needed them. The question is: will they be accepted back into the fold, and will this help them as they try to relaunch?" Provance said. "Only time will tell how this move plays out, for better or worse." For now, it looks like Harry and Meghan are trying to be proactive. 

Since Harry and William's feud is going as strong as ever, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex might not be overreacting if they have concerns over Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's titles. "Once he was crowned as king, his brother might well show no mercy to him and Meghan," royal reporter Tom Bower wrote in his 2026 book, "Betrayal: Power, Deceit And The Fight For The Future Of The Royal Family" (via Harper's Bazaar). There's no way of knowing whether William has plans to strip Archie and Lilibet's titles, but besides the concern over his kids' future within the monarchy, Harry has also previously expressed a desire to have Archie and Lilibet feel British, as well as American.

In a statement read during his security court case (via BBC), Harry noted that the loosened security arrangements were getting in the way of his children's access to their roots. "The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the US," he expressed in 2023. The move back should accomplish this part, at least.