Meghan zigzags throughout the discussion with Oprah about Archie's title. For those who can access it, here is a
link to the interview - the discussion about Archie's title starts at the 27 minute mark.
The discussion starts off with Meghan stating that it is important that Archie have a title because if he does not have a title he will not get security. So at this juncture the implication is that Archie needs to be a prince from birth in order to get security. Then Oprah asks how was it explained to her that the great-grandson of The Queen will not be a prince. Interestingly, Meghan's response is more about what is going to happen when Charles ascends and Archie is the grandson of a monarch as opposed to what is going to happen at Archie's birth when he is the great grandson of a monarch. So even though Meghan uses the word safety throughout the discussion, she is now taking issue with some future event. So now the issue is that Archie will not become a prince when Charles ascends because the convention is going to be changed resulting in one set of grandchildren, the Cambridges, having Prince and Princess titles and another set, the Sussexes, not having Prince and Princess titles. Then Oprah asks about there not being a photocall on the hospital steps and then we're back to present day and Meghan states that the hospital steps photocall is a tradition for Princes and Princesses, and since Archie is not a prince, then that tradition does not apply to him and furthermore why offer him up when there is no intention to keep him safe.
My reaction:
* There are HRH / Princes and Princesses who do not have security, so I am not seeing how Meghan is under the impression that being a Prince or Princess means you get security.
* To me it seems like it would have been a more productive discussion for Harry and Meghan to advocate for their children to get security regardless of whether they have titles, assuming that there is some level of threat. The tour of South Africa was at the request of the Foreign Office, security for Archie should have been part of the discussions before a final agreement was made.
* Meghan takes issue with being told that the George V LP that stipulates that male line grandchildren are HRH / Princes and Princesses is going to be replaced with a Charles III LP that will limit the HRH / Princes and Princesses and her children will not become HRH Prince Archie and HRH Princess X. She is incredulous as to how that can happen, but if George V can do it for whatever reasons he had in 1917, then Charles III can do it for whatever reasons he will have in 202X. And that is another thing, Meghan wants the viewers to believe that the idea of revising the LP came about because of Archie's impending arrival when the writing was on the wall (to me) that this is how things were going to be when the Wessex children were not given the HRH / Prince and Princess title and styling.
* To me there may be some legitimate concerns about security, but I find it hard to believe that if Harry and Meghan were UK based working royals, and there was a credible threat against their children that security would be provided, whether it be taxpayer funded security or privately funded security.
* To me linking their children's safety to them having titles does not hold water. I think that Harry and Meghan wanted their children to have the HRH / Prince and Princess title and styling from birth like the Cambridge children and are unhappy that Archie was not given a prince title at birth. Their grievance was further compounded by Meghan being informed (I think Harry already knew) that their children will not get the HRH / Prince and Princess title and styling when their grandfather ascends due to it being Charles' intent to issue new letters patent.
* Note: since I doubt that Charles plans to issue the new LP within seconds of his ascension, there will be a window of time where the Sussex children will technically be HRH / Prince and Princess but I suspect that TPTB hope that the Sussex children continue to use their birth names until the new LP makes it official that they are not HRH Prince Archie and HRH Princess X.