Following the birth of Baby Sussex, many fans are wondering whether Prince Harry and Meghan's newborn son will be granted the title of Prince. It's likely that the royal baby will be known as the Earl of Dumbarton – the title that Harry was granted by his grandmother the Queen on the morning of his wedding last year. As the son of a Duke, the royal baby is entitled to use one of Harry's lesser titles as a courtesy title. He will one day inherit the title, the Duke of Sussex, from Harry.
However, it's unlikely at this stage that the baby boy will be made a Prince. As the seventh-in-line to the throne, the child is much further down the line of succession than his cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who are third, fourth and fifth-in-line respectively. The Queen stepped in ahead of George's birth to issue a Letters Patent to ensure all of Prince William and Kate's children would have fitting titles, but this was done well ahead of time.
Prince Harry speaks to press following the birth of his son
For now, the royal baby is not expected to be a Prince, nor an HRH, because George V limited titles within the royal family in 1917. He will be granted the title when Charles becomes king, as the child of a son of a sovereign, but he may decide not to officially use it.
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Harry and Meghan announced the birth of their baby on Monday afternoon, some nine hours after the Duchess gave birth at 5:26am. It is believed she had a home birth at Frogmore Cottage as planned, although the palace have yet to confirm this detail. Harry gave an impromptu press conference in the mews of Windsor Castle, saying: "I'm very excited to announce that Meghan and myself had a baby boy earlier this morning, a very healthy boy.
© Photo: Getty ImagesMeghan gave birth at 5:26am on Monday morning
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"Mother and baby are doing incredibly well. It's been the most amazing experience I could ever have possibly imagined." Harry paid tribute to his wife and added of his newborn son: "As every father and parent will ever say, you know, your baby is absolutely amazing, but this little thing is absolutely to-die-for, so I'm just over the moon."
Bookmakers are taking bets on the baby's name, with Arthur, Philip, Albert, Alexander and James the current frontrunners. "Still thinking about names," Harry said at the press conference. "The baby is a little bit overdue so we've had a little bit of time to think about it."
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