Britain's newest royal baby doesn't have a title — just like Archie

We're in the middle of a British royal baby boom that will see Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, welcome three new great-grandchildren to their flock before the year is out.

Their granddaughter, Princess Eugenie, gave birth to her first child, a son called August, at the Portland Hospital in London in February.

There was no time for another of their granddaughters, Zara Tindall, to rush to the hospital when she delivered her third child, a little boy named Lucas. His sudden arrival saw her giving birth on the bathroom floor of her Gloucestershire home earlier this week.

Meanwhile, their grandson Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are expecting their second child, a little girl, midyear.

Besides being born in the year 2021, another thing the newest generation of the Firm has in common is their lack of posh titles.

In fact, of Queen Elizabeth's soon-to-be 11 great-grandchildren (see list below), only three have royal titles — and those are the children of her grandson, Prince William (the eldest son of Prince Charles).

This is something Meghan addressed during her and her husband's infamous tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month.

Speaking of her firstborn child, Archie, the Duchess said she was shocked that “the first member of colour in this family isn't being titled in the same way as [Prince Charles's] other grandchildren would be.”

WHO GETS ROYAL TITLES AND WHY

That said, Meghan did allude to a reason Archie was not automatically made a prince. It all comes down to a Letters of Patent issued by King George V in 1917.

According to Time magazine, this decree states that the British sovereign's children and their grandchildren (in the male line) are granted the title of prince or princess.

That's why as the children of Queen Elizabeth's sons, Princes Andrew and Charles, Eugenie, Harry and William all have royal titles, while Zara who is Princess Anne's daughter doesn't.

When it comes to the sovereign's great-grandchildren, however, King George V declared that only the oldest son of the Prince of Wales’ eldest son would be given a grand royal title.  

So, in terms of this rule, the only one of Queen Elizabeth's great-grandchildren who qualifies is Prince George, Prince William's firstborn son and Prince Charles' oldest grandson.

However, in 2012 Queen Elizabeth issued a decree granting the title of prince or princess to all of Prince William's children. That's why his other children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, have royal titles.

ROYAL TITLES NOT SET IN STONE

That said, thanks to this same decree, things may change if Prince Charles inherits the crown from his mother.

If Prince Charles becomes king, then all of his grandchildren will automatically have the right to style themselves as princes and princesses. This includes Archie and Prince Harry and Meghan's soon-to-be-born daughter.

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN AT A GLANCE

In order of age:

1. Savannah Phillips (Peter Phillips' daughter and Princess Anne's granddaughter)
2. Isla Phillips (Peter Phillips' daughter and Princess Anne's granddaughter)
3. Prince George (Prince William's son and Prince Charles' grandson)
4. Mia Tindall (Zara Tindall's daughter and Princess Anne's granddaughter)
5. Princess Charlotte (Prince William's daughter and Prince Charles' granddaughter)
6. Prince Louis (Prince William's son and Prince Charles' grandson)
7. Lena Tindall (Zara Tindall's daughter and Princess Anne's granddaughter)
8. Archie Mountbatten-Windsor (Prince Harry's son and Prince Charles' grandson)
9. August Brooksbank (Princess Eugenie's son and Prince Andrew's grandson)
10. Lucus Tindall (Zara Tindall's son and Princess Anne's grandson)
11. Baby Sussex (Prince Harry's soon-to-be-born daughter who will be Prince Charles' granddaughter)