The Duchess of Sussex is not known as ‘Princess Meghan’ for exactly the same reasons that the Duchess of Cambridge is not known as ‘Princess Catherine’.
Although both women listed their job titles as ‘Princess of the United Kingdom’, neither woman is afforded the title.
Upon their marriage in 2018, The Queen granted Prince Harry the title of Duke of Sussex, with Meghan being known as the Duchess of Sussex.
Britain’s royal protocol is incredibly strict, indeed many would argue it to be archaic. One such rule is that as she was not born into the Royal Family, she is unable to be referred to as “Princess Meghan”.
Had The Queen not afforded Harry & Meghan the Dukedom of Sussex, Meghan would have been styled as Princess Henry of Wales.
The same rule applied when Catherine married Prince William. Her official title is Princess William of Wales, although it course is known as the Duchess of Cambridge.
The rules of the British peerage means it would be improper to call the Duchess Princess Meghan.
However, she still technically ranks as a Princess, as is shown on the birth certificates of her children.
The Queen traditionally gifts her sons and grandsons Dukedoms in a friendly gesture of approval, as well as ensuring their wives do not have to go by their husband’s name.
If Dukedoms aren’t awarded, women often end up being styled by their husband’s name – a contemporary example being Princess Michael of Kent.
When Diana married Prince Charles, her official title was The Princess of Wales.
However, the media had other ideas, and incorrectly referred to her as Princess Diana – a style that always stuck.
After the divorce, she was known as Diana, Princess of Wales.
Another example of the rules governing who can be designated a prince or Princess can be seen when looking at the late Duke of Edinburgh.
While he was from royal blood, being known as a Prince of Greece and Denmark before his marriage, he was not officially known as a British Prince upon his marriage to then Princess Elizabeth.
It was only in 1957 when The Queen decreed that he should be “accorded him the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom.”
Technically, this means that Her Majesty has the discretion to decree that both Catherine and Meghan be made princesses. This is extremely unlikely to ever happen.
