Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's forgotten royal titles explained
Archie would have inherited his father’s subsidiary Scottish title and become Earl of Dumbarton upon birth
While the world knows them as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle actually hold two lesser-known royal titles, ones they rarely, if ever, use.
On the day of their wedding in May 2018, Queen Elizabeth II conferred three titles upon Prince Harry as per royal tradition: Duke of Sussex (England), Earl of Dumbarton (Scotland), Baron Kilkeel (Northern Ireland).
Meghan Markle, in turn, became Duchess of Sussex, Countess of Dumbarton, and Baroness Kilkeel.
But while "Duke and Duchess of Sussex" became their public-facing titles, the others have quietly faded into the background, especially Earl and Countess of Dumbarton, a title the couple reportedly dislike for a very specific reason.
According to The Telegraph, a source close to the couple said they rejected passing the Dumbarton title on to Prince Archie because of its unfortunate phonetics.
“They didn’t like the idea of Archie being called the Earl of Dumbarton because it began with the word ‘dumb,’” the source said. “They were worried about how that might look.”
Had they chosen to follow tradition, Archie would have inherited his father’s subsidiary Scottish title and become Earl of Dumbarton upon birth.
The titles themselves are steeped in royal history. The Earl of Dumbarton title dates back to 1675, originally granted to George Douglas, a younger son of the first Marquess of Douglas. Dumbarton is a town on the north bank of the River Clyde in western Scotland.
Meanwhile, Baron Kilkeel is a title that had never been used before, created for Harry at the time of his marriage. Kilkeel is a small fishing town in County Down, Northern Ireland.
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