TORONTO -- Prince Harry is giving up his royal titles, but he remains a prince.
And he and his wife Meghan are still the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Confused yet?
It seems when it comes to royal titles, not all honorifics are created equally.
Buckingham Palace announced Saturday that, as part of the Sussexes stepping back from royal duties, they will no longer use their royal titles.
However, this applies only to the HRH (his/her royal highness) titles given to active, working members of the Royal Family.
In all other aspects, Harry and Meghan retain the titles commonly associated with them.
"Prince Harry is still Prince Harry," CTV鈥檚 royal commentator Richard Berthelsen said Monday in an email.
In addition, Harry and Meghan are still the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Earl and Countess of Dumbarton, and Baron and Baroness Kilkeel.
Their son Archie is heir apparent to all of those titles. What remains to be seen, however, is whether he will ever become a prince.
Harry achieved his princedom by being born the second son of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. Royal laws stipulate that the first son of the oldest son of the Prince of Wales 鈥� Prince William's son Prince George, in this case 鈥� automatically inherits the title of prince.
The Queen issued Letters Patent in 2012 that awarded William's other children the right to be called princes and princesses. However, no such decree was made for Harry's offspring.
By tradition, Archie would become a prince after the Queen's death, when Charles ascends to the throne. All grandsons and male-line granddaughters of reigning sovereigns are customarily given prince and princess titles. However, tradition and custom have clearly been thrown out the window when it comes to Harry and Meghan's relationship with the rest of the Royal Family.
Two other senior royals have lost their HRH titles during the Queen's reign 鈥� Harry's mother Diana and Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. Both of them had their HRH titles taken away from them after they divorced their husbands, and both were allowed to keep their other honorifics.
