The Queen had to step in to change Prince Louis’ official name
Her Royal Majesty has done the same for some of her other great grandchildren, but not all of them
Her Royal Majesty has done the same for some of her other great grandchildren, but not all of them
As the youngest member of the Cambridges, Prince Louis always gets plenty of attention, with some claiming he’s the spitting image of his maternal grandfather. Meanwhile, others enjoy his tendency to interrupt his parent’s Zoom calls.
Born in April 2018, Kate and William named their youngest son Louis Arthur Charles. Louis is a popular name in the family, with Prince William and Prince George both having it as their middle name to honour Lord Louis Mountbatten, who died in an IRA bombing in 1979.
Of course, the toddler’s formal name is His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. But, if it wasn’t for the Queen, his name would sound far less distinguished.
Thanks to rule put in place by King George V, Prince Louis very nearly didn’t get his HRH title.
In 1917, King George V ruled that only the royals closest to the top of the line of succession should automatically be given titles. This meant that only the sovereign's children would automatically become a Prince or Princess, along with grandchildren born through the male line.
But great-grandchildren — like George, Charlotte and Louis — were not included. The Queen overturned the rule for Prince Louis, and she had for George and Charlotte before him.
If the Queen hadn’t acted, Louis would have likely been known as Master Louis Cambridge or Master Louis Windsor.
In a move considered controversial by some, the Queen hasn’t done the same for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children.
During her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan explained how not having royal titles actually impact’s her children’s safety.
"They were saying they didn't want him to be a Prince or Princess, which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn't going to receive security,” said Meghan in the interview. "This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy where I was going, hold on for a second. They said [he's not going to get security], because he's not going to be a Prince.”
She continued: "Okay, well, he needs to be safe so we're not saying don't make him a Prince or Princess, but if you're saying the title is what's going to affect that protection, we haven't created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder you've allowed that to happen which means our son needs to be safe."
Meanwhile, royal experts claim that the Queen was acting according to protocol. What do you think? Should the Queen have treated all her great grandchildren equally, or should royal traditions be upheld no matter what?
