Soon-to-Be King William V Wants to Strip Titles from Harry, Archie and Lilibet

Attention has turned to a royal heir behaving as though the crown already rests on his head. Prince William, by all appearances, is king in all but name. His growing influence within palace operations and his willingness to shape royal policy suggest a man who no longer waits for accession. As reported by royal correspondent Tom  Sykes, the Prince of Wales has been briefing that he engineered Prince Andrew’s recent public humiliation and intends to pursue wider structural reforms once his father’s reign ends. His silence toward the Sussex family fits the same pattern, a calculated effort to marginalise Prince Harry’s line and, in doing so, distance the monarchy from its first mixed‑race heirs.

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William Offers No public Connection to Archie and Lilibet

Tensions between the brothers began well before Archie’s birth in 2019. In Spare, Prince Harry described deepening mistrust, emotional distance, and a series of confrontations that signalled the breakdown of their bond. But recent events suggest those early cracks have widened into something far more entrenched. When King Charles held a private meeting with Harry in September 2025 to explore reconciliation, the exclusion of Prince William reportedly triggered a wave of frustration inside Kensington Palace. According to reports, William’s absence was deliberate. His response came swiftly, through a series of briefings and anonymous leaks portraying him as the victim of palace intrigue. Within days, media allies were amplifying claims of disloyalty and disunity, positioning Harry and his children, once again, on the outside.

When Archie was born in 2019, Prince William gave a brief on-camera reaction that raised eyebrows. “I’m already an uncle,” he said, before offering a perfunctory “absolutely thrilled.” In the clip, he never mentioned Meghan by name. Nor did he acknowledge his brother’s historic moment of becoming a father for the first time. Instead, he positioned himself as a seasoned uncle, presumably referencing his connection to Kate’s side of the family. The omission was hard to ignore. For someone so publicly polished, the tone felt noticeably cool. And while he joked about sleep deprivation and offered vague well wishes, the warmth one might expect between brothers, let alone from an uncle to a newborn, was conspicuously absent. His reaction hinted at deeper tensions already at play. Since then, the silence has hardened. In family events, his distance shows. In briefings, he offers no recognition. His strategy, it seems, is omission by design.

Meghan’s Claims About Title Changes Now Appear Substantiated

In their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Sussexes described troubling conversations that took place during Meghan’s pregnancy. She revealed that palace figures had discussed altering the established convention that would entitle her children to inherit royal titles.

The claim drew immediate scrutiny. Critics questioned her grasp of protocol and dismissed the allegation as misinformed. At the time, Meghan also referred to comments made about her unborn child’s potential skin tone. Speculation initially focused on Princess Kate, a detail later clarified and retracted in Omid Scobie’s book Endgame, where he confirmed that two senior royals had been named in private correspondence. The exchange underscored how early efforts to distance the Sussex children from royal status were entangled with questions of lineage and image. This pattern now appears to continue under William’s influence.

“There’s a convention… that when you’re the grandchild of the monarch, so when Harry’s dad becomes king, automatically Archie and our next baby would become prince or princess or whatever they’re going to be. And that having the title gives you the safety and protection. But also, it’s not their right to take it away…Even with that convention I’m talking about, while I was pregnant, they said they want to change the convention for Archie.” — Meghan Sussex, CBS Interview with Oprah Winfrey (2021)

William Expected to Rewrite Title Rules With Political Consequences

Today, those remarks seem harder to dismiss.

Now, the latest reporting suggests that Prince William is considering changes to the royal naming system once he ascends the throne. Sources close to the future king indicate a desire to remove princely status from the children of Prince Harry and possibly from the daughters of Prince Andrew as well. Under current rules, Archie and Lilibet are entitled to be styled as Prince and Princess, a status confirmed by King Charles shortly after his accession. Any future amendment would require new Letters Patent and careful legal framing.

The dramatic change will be effected by an executive royal order known as “letters patent” ratified by Parliament in the early weeks of the reign of King William V. It will remove princely titles not just from Andrew but also from Beatrice, Eugenie, Harry, Archie, and Lilibet. The children of Prince Edward and Princess Anne have never used princely titles.

Meghan and Harry will also see their dukedoms and HRHs formally revoked by the new king, the source said. Meghan continues to use her HRH despite being ordered not to do so by the late Queen Elizabeth II. — Tom Sykes, The Royalist Substack

Despite what Sykes claims, royal titles conferred by letters patent cannot be retroactively revoked without a constitutional overhaul. Prince Harry’s titles are permanent by birth and lawful grant. Meghan’s HRH was never removed; she only agreed not to use them. Archie and Lilibet’s princely titles follow established precedent under the 1917 George V Letters Patent. Any effort by Prince William to revoke them would face legal, political, and public legitimacy challenges

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Title Reform Carries Political Consequences

The power to alter royal styles lies solely with the monarch. While the King may consult his heirs, the decision remains his alone. In recent years, Charles has refrained from pursuing formal reductions in royal status beyond what has already been negotiated. Even Prince Andrew, though removed from public life, retains his HRH and ducal titles.

If William does intend to revisit the Letters Patent, he would face considerable backlash, both legally and politically. Adjusting the framework to remove Archie and Lilibet would not only reopen painful public debates, but it would also highlight the monarchy’s difficulty embracing diversity within its own ranks.

These actions would almost certainly impact perceptions of the monarchy abroad, especially in Commonwealth nations with majority Black and brown populations. Supporters of the Prince of Wales argue that he is preparing for a more streamlined royal future. Others believe his motivation lies closer to home, a personal effort to erase a branch of the family that he believes weakened the institution.

Final Thoughts

Prince William wants to modernise the monarchy. What remains unclear is whether his vision includes all branches of the family. His refusal to acknowledge Archie and Lilibet has gone beyond silence. It has begun to resemble a vindictive strategy.

If the goal is to narrow the monarchy’s public face, the question becomes which children are deemed worth protecting. The answer, increasingly, appears to depend not on duty, but on lineage. History may not repeat itself exactly, but it tends to follow familiar patterns. And the decisions William makes now will define the monarchy for a generation to come.

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