When Archie Harrison was born (opens in new tab), Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) chose not to give him a royal title in the hopes of giving him as normal a life as possible. But even though Archie will not grow up with the HRH title, he may still have to follow some of the strictest rules governing royal life.

The rules in question were established by the 2013 Succession to the Throne Act, which basically states that royalty ranked sixth in the line of succession or higher must obtain permission from the monarch to marry. According to constitutional law expert Ian McMassanne, this rule would likely apply to Archie even if he did not serve in an active royal capacity or use a royal title. according to the Mirror (opens in new tab), Harry and Meghan declined the royal title at Archie's birth, Archie would automatically become a prince once his grandfather, Prince Charles, ascended the throne (opens in new tab). Archie must then decide whether he wants to keep the title when he turns 18.

"Prior to the Succession to the Throne Act of 2013, under the Royal Marriage Act of 1772, descendants of King George II had to marry with the permission of the monarch in order to retain their right to the throne, unless they were royal girls married into foreign royal families," McMassanne explained to the Express (Open in new tab). 'The 2013 law was an attempt to bring up to date several outdated and discriminatory laws regarding the monarchy. The law abolished the preference for male lineage, allowing the first born child, regardless of gender, to be the heir to the throne.

By the time Archie became interested in marriage, either Prince Charles (open in new tab) or Prince William (open in new tab) would likely be on the throne. Archie is currently seventh in line to the throne (opens in new tab), and his father, Prince Harry, is sixth in line to the throne (opens in new tab) behind Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince William's three children, George, Charlotte, and Louis (opens in new tab). When Prince Charles ascends to the throne, Archie moves up one place to sixth in the line of succession.

"Indeed, with this move, one might expect that, as it stands, if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son marries, he will have to seek the monarch's permission unless one of his three cousins marries first and has children, since his grandfather will be 6th in line when he becomes king," McMassanne Mr. McMassanne explains.

Another way Archie could return to the line of succession, of course, would be if Prince William and Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) have more children, but that seems unlikely.