by The majority of Britons – simply – don’t think Meghan and Harry’s children should be named Prince and Princess.
A new poll conducted by YouGov says 51% of respondents disagree that the titles were bestowed on Archie and Lilibet.
The couple used the title ‘princess’ for Lilibet for the first time last week as part of the one-year-old’s christening announcement. A spokesman later clarified that the titles were a “birthright” for the couple’s two children, and the royal family’s official website, which shows the line of succession, was later updated.
“Children’s titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch,” a spokesman said. “This matter has been settled in accordance with Buckingham Palace for some time.”
Archie and Lilibet became a prince and princess respectively when Charles became sovereign last September by virtue of a charter of letters created by George V in 1917, conferring the style on all of the monarch’s male grandchildren.
To undo this, Charles would have had to issue further patents preventing the children from using the titles.
The use of prince or princess for Meghan and Harry’s children has sparked much debate and some controversy, with some experts calling it “hypocrisy” and others noting that it’s “in line with precedent”.
A YouGov poll released on Monday showed that 51% of all respondents didn’t think the Sussex children should have the titles, compared to 25% who said they should.
Conservative voters were far more likely to think the couple’s children should not use the titles (72%), while those who voted in favor of Brexit were also significantly more likely to oppose it (68%).
Labor voters were quite divided, with 37% saying they should and 35% saying they shouldn’t.
Age was another key factor in the survey, with the number of respondents choosing “shouldn’t” increasing with age: 44% of 18-24 year olds rose to 64% of those 65+ .
The age distribution was more evenly split among those who responded that Archie and Lilibet should be given titles. Both 18-24 year olds and those over 65 made up 22% of respondents, with the largest age group responding positively to the awarding of titles to children being 25-49 year olds at 28%.
The survey shows that younger people are more likely to have no opinion on the issue – which could indicate that they care less or are more open and have fewer fixed views than older people.
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