Meghan and Harry’s baby will get a second-rate title

The birth of the newest member of the royal family means big changes. And there will be some important decisions to make.

It is all Prince George’s fault.

It is his fault there has been a massive run on junior knee socks and tiny checked shirts.

His arrival into the royal fold in 2013 is also the reason Harry and Meghan’s new baby will get a less flashy title.

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Let me explain.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have welcomed the birth of their first child. Picture: Matrix

Queen Elizabeth II is faced with a big decision about Baby Sussex’s title. Picture: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

In 2012, when the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant and the world was rejoicing because we were about to get a new, thrilling generation of royals to obsess over, the Queen decided it was time to spruce up and modernise the Succession to the Crown Act. (Well, it does date back to 1701 so it’s hardly au courant.)

The biggest tweak to the antediluvian document meant that no matter the sex of the Cambridges’ first baby, they would become the heir to the throne, doing away with the particularly hoary concept of primogeniture. (That is, the rule that meant titles, estates and wealth get passed to the eldest son.) When Princess Charlotte was born in 2015, she made history as the first Princess to bump a male royal (in this case Prince Harry) down a rung on the royal line of succession.

But those changes that were rushed through when Kate was in her third trimester also held wider implications for the rest of the royal family and the way the Queen would dole out titles in coming years.

The birth of Prince George changed everything. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Princess Charlotte was the first princess to bump a male royal down the line of succession. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

WILL BABY SUSSEX BE A HRH?

We don’t know - that is entirely up to the Queen.

Previously, only the eldest son of the Prince of Wales was styled a prince, and under those old rules, Charlotte would only have been a lady. However, under Her Maj’s tweaks, all of Wills and Kate’s kids are styled as HRH prince or princess.

The Queen gets to decide if she wants to bestow Harry and Meghan’s bundle of joy with the honour of being termed a HRH (though given how much she adores Harry, it would not be a huge surprise if she did).

The Queen could decide to upgrade the title of Meghan and Harry’s child. Picture: Matrix

OK - SO WHAT TITLE WILL THE BABY GET?

A bit of a crappy one.

Under those 2012 letters of patent, Harry and Meghan’s child cannot be a prince and will only end up as an earl.

This is the case with Hazza’s uncle, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex. When he and wife Sophie became parents, their children got pretty crummy titles, given they are Lizzie’s grandchildren. Their daughter is known as Lady Louise Windsor and their son is James, Viscount Severn. (However, when Philip dies, it is widely believed Edward will be made Duke of Edinburgh so James will be known as the Earl of Wessex. Lady Louise gets nothing because boys rule, girls drool according to the positively archaic titles system.)

Harry and Meghan’s sproglet will get a similar title. The baby boy will get one of the lesser titles that the Queen gave Harry on his wedding day, so he will most likely be the Earl of Dumbarton. Any more boys they have will be known as Lord Such and Such Mountbatten-Windsor.

EITHER WAY, IT’S BAD NEWS FOR PRINCE ANDREW

Harry, Meghan and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who is about to drop another rung on the royal ladder. Picture: Kirsty Wigglesworth /AFP

And Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

This new baby will be the seventh in line to the throne and will bump princes Andrew and Edward, and all of their kids, down a peg and further away from the Crown. Basically, the chances of a Queen Beatrice will be remoter than ever. Quel dommage.