Prince Harry and Meghan Markle turned down this royal title for Archie amid heartbreaking bullying fears

Earl of Dumbarton could have been Archie's royal title

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa.
(Image credit: Toby Melville - Pool/Getty Images)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly turned down the title "Earl of Dumbarton" for Archie over fears he would have been bullied.


Earl of Dumbarton could have been Archie's official royal title but Meghan Markle and Prince Harry reportedly rejected it over fears their son would be bullied. The couple tied the knot back in 2018, with Meghan Markle's wedding dress never far from fans minds as they reflect on the moment she walked down the aisle to marry Prince Harry. 

They welcomed their son Archie a year later and it's been widely reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex didn't want their first-born to have a royal title, amid claims they want to raise him privately in their $14million Santa Barbara mansion, having stepped back as senior members of the royal family in 2020.

But now the Telegraph says that the couple were in fact offered a title—Earl of Dumbarton—but turned it down because it featured the word dumb.

“They didn’t like the idea of Archie being called the Earl of Dumbarton because it began with the word ‘dumb’. They were worried about how that might look," a source revealed. 

The word dumb is a commonly used slang term for "daft" in America, and the couple jointly agreed it was too close to the mark. 

“It wasn’t just Meghan who pointed out the potential pitfalls, it also bothered Harry," another source explained.

Meghan Markle

(Image credit: Chris Jackson / Staff / Getty Images)

The title Lord Dumbarton became extinct in January 1749, having been created for Lord George Douglas in the Peerage of Scotland in 1675.

The revelation comes after Meghan claimed their son, Archie, had missed out on becoming a prince due to the color of his skin, which ultimately led to the Royal Family considering appointing a 'diversity chief'.

It was just one of many claims made during the couple's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. When asked if the decision to not give Archie a title was because of his race, Meghan replied, "In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we [had] the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title."

“And, also, concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

However, according to the Telegraph the couple had previously told courtiers they were "adamant" Archie would grow up without a title to allow him to enjoy a more "normal life" like Prince Harry's cousins Peter and Zara Phillips. 

Georgia Farquharson

Georgia writes across Woman & Home and Good to Know and specialises in all things royal. Previously labelled the "Queen of the royals," Georgia knows the whose who and what's what when it comes to the monarchy. When she's not eagerly following the royal family, Georgia enjoys shopping and self-care. She lives with this motto in mind; "if your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough."