Will Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s royal baby have British and American citizenship?
While the child is unlikely to ever sit on the throne, the arrival of a half-American who may hold dual nationality could shake up the royals
What would the founding fathers think? Almost 250 years after the United States launched a revolution to rid itself of the British royal family, the next royal baby could be an American.
The idea that a scion of the former colonies would be seventh in line to succeed Queen Elizabeth to the throne could change the royal family from within – and help extend a surge in popularity for the monarchy.
The child of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – Meghan Markle became a duchess when she wed Prince Harry a year ago – is due very soon.
Baby Sussex, as the child is known ahead of its birth, will be a product of two cultures: its father a prince who is a symbol of Britain; its mother quintessentially American – a self-made television star with a white father and an African American mother.
The child is unlikely to ever become king or queen, but the presence of a half-American child who may choose to hold dual nationality could shake up the royal family, just as the arrival of Meghan has had a modernising effect on the stately but sometimes stodgy House of Windsor.
“It’s quite possible the child will have a lot of American influence,” royal commentator Hugo Vickers said. “The royal family is not totally unused to that kind of thing. Children have been born with Greek mothers or German mothers in the past, obviously, but Meghan is the first American mother so close in the royal family.” Certainly, Meghan isn’t following any of the royal scripts when it comes to childbirth preparations.
Unlike Harry’s brother Prince William and his wife Kate, Harry and Meghan have chosen to keep the details about their baby planning private, despite – or perhaps because of – intense media interest in the baby’s arrival, expected in the next few weeks.
The couple haven’t revealed where Meghan intends to give birth, so there isn’t likely to be a 24/7 media stakeout outside the hospital as was the case for the births of William and Kate’s three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.