- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their first son, baby Archie, in May – and to the surprise of many, they rejected a courtesy title for their son.
- Although they didn’t disclose their reasons to the public, the couple have made clear they want Archie to live a regular life – keeping even simple details surrounding his birth and christening private.
- However, this isn’t actually that unusual, as many royals have rejected their titles throughout the years.
- INSIDER rounded up the royals who rejected HRH status, and the surprising reasons why.
- Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their first child, baby Archie Harrison, in May, there was a lot of speculation as to whether the newborn would be given a royal title.
Buckingham Palace later confirmed the couple were offered a courtesy title for their son, but rejected the offer for reasons not disclosed to the public.
However, the couple have done little to hide the fact that they want Archie to grow up as a regular citizen, with as much privacy as possibly.
The duke and duchess kept the details surrounding his birth private, and they do not disclose standard information - such as the identity of his godparents - to the public.
Nonetheless, Harry and Markle aren't the first - and likely won't be the last - royals to reject a title. When Princess Madeleine of Sweden married Christopher O'Neill in 2013, the businessman refused HRH status so that he could keep his British-American citizenship.
The reasons get even more bizarre - take Norway's Princess Martha Louise, for example, who has rejected her title so she can go on a spiritual tour with her boyfriend. The royal said she will only use her HRH status when representing the royal family in future.
Below, INSIDER rounds up royals who have rejected titles, and the surprising reasons why.
King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so that he could marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, in 1937.
King Edward gave up his title to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American woman, in the summer of 1937.
At the time, the Church of England did not allow divorcees to marry in church. Therefore, Edward could no longer remain Head of State - and subsequently, head of the church - if he wanted to marry Simpson.
He passed the throne down to his brother, George VI, who would later pass on the throne to our current Queen, Elizabeth II.
But it wasn't all bad, as Edward was given a replacement title. He and Simpson became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, but were not allowed HRH status.
It's a good thing the Church of England no longer abides by such strict rules. Otherwise, it could have been a different story for Meghan Markle, who divorced Trevor Engelson in 2013 before marrying Prince Harry 5 years later.
Thailand's Princess Ubolratana dropped her title for a similar reason.
By choosing to marry a "commoner," Peter Jensen, an American she met while attending MIT, she was forced to give up her royal status. Although the pair divorced in 2001, Ubolratana still isn't allowed HRH status - but instead goes by "Tunkramom Ying," which translates to "Daughter to the Queen Regent."
The ex-royal embarked on an acting career after returning to Thailand in 2001, starring in Thai films "Where The Miracle Happens" (2008), "My Best Bodyguard" (2010) and "Together" (2012).
In order for Prince Philip to marry Queen Elizabeth, Philip — who was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark — had to reject the royal title granted to him by his birthplace, Denmark, so he could become a British royal.
The couple's only daughter, Princess Anne, married Mark Phillips in 1973. It is said Phillips was offered an Earldom by the Queen, but turned her offer down for reasons unknown to the public.
The couple's children, Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips, were subsequently born without royal titles.
Sweden's Princess Madeleine married Christopher O'Neill, a British-American businessman, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm in 2013.
In order for O'Neill to claim his royal title, however, he would have had to take the family's surname, Bernadotte, and give up his American and British citizenship - which he declined to do. Similarly, Madeleine chose not to take O'Neill's name, so she could keep her royal status.
The couple welcomed a daughter, Princess Leonore, in 2014.
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed a son, baby Archie Harrison, in May 2019. The palace later announced that the couple declined a courtesy title for their son. Although they haven't disclosed the reason behind their decision, the couple kept most details surrounding his birth private — an indication that they want him to live a regular life, not a royal one.
In a decision that angered royal fans across the globe, the couple also announced plans to keep the identity of Archie's godparents private.
Read more: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's son will get a royal title after all, but it's not what you think
However, due to an ancient decree, Archie could claim the title of prince when Prince Charles becomes king.
Most recently, Norway's Princess Martha Louise announced that she would stop using her title for "commercial contexts." The royal had previously been using her title to promote her spiritual tour with her boyfriend, Shaman Durek, "The Princess and the Shaman."
"There have been many discussions about my use of title in a commercial context lately," she wrote in an Instagram post.
"The fact that I used Princess in the title of my tour, I have said before that I am very sorry, and I still stand by that. It was a mistake and I understand that it provokes when the princess title is used this way.
"The discussions are something I have taken seriously, and in collaboration with my family we have found that it is best that we make some changes," she added.
"We have therefore jointly come to the conclusion that I use the title princess when I represent the Royal House, do my official assignments at home and abroad, and in private contexts.
"From now on I will not use my princess title in a commercial context. That is, in all commercial contexts, I only use Martha Louise."
