How Archie's LA life with Harry and Meghan will be different to his other royal cousins

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor will turn one in his new home in California on Wednesday, with his parents, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

He is the youngest member of the Royal Family, and the fourth to mark their birthday in lockdown as the world battles coronavirus.

Archie has already lived in three different countries during his royal life. His family were settled in Frogmore, their Windsor cottage, before spending a few months in Canada, in a rented home in Vancouver Island.

They moved to Los Angeles at the end of March, giving Archie a hat-trick of hometowns before he even reached his first birthday.

Being 6,000 miles away from his cousins, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, in much sunnier climes, is just one of the differences he will find his life has to theirs.

He doesn’t have a royal title

One of the biggest differences between Archie and his cousins is his lack of title. When he was born, his parents declined the offer of a title from the Queen, so he is not a prince, and won’t be known as His Royal Highness.

That’s not too unusual in the Windsors. Princess Anne made the same decision for her children, Peter and Zara, back in 1977 and 1981.

Read more: Princess Charlotte delivers handmade pasta to pensioners in new birthday photographs

It means Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall have lived much quieter lives, and have been able to make their own money. There are other royals who have titles and jobs, but they don’t carry out work on behalf of the Queen.

While his parents are still the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, they have decided to drop their HRH stylings too, so he will follow their footsteps.

He can get a job - and maybe won’t join the military

Archie’s lack of title means his future job could be any number of things and he can pursue a career path a bit differently to his cousins.

Peter Phillips has held all sorts of jobs, including working in a Formula One racing team and running his own sports management company.

Zara Tindall made her name in the world of equestrian sports, and went onto become an Olympian.

For Harry, the main opportunity open to him was the military, something most royals serve in in one way or another. But while he loved his time in service, because it was an escape for him, his son might not be bound to duty in the same way he was.

He will have fewer photocalls

Likely a big factor in Meghan and Harry’s decision not to style Archie as an HRH is the chance to escape some photocalls.

When Prince George and Princess Charlotte started school, they had a photo call, and they will likely get used to lots of cameras around as they grow up.

There will be cameras on their royal tours, and they will probably release pictures ahead of some family holidays.

For Archie though, that will be a rarer occurrence. However, living in LA might mean more paparazzi instead.

His parents already set a precedent of change when they announced his birth and conducted the first photo call. Unlike Prince William and Kate, they did not step outside the Lindo Wing with their newborn. They waited two days and set up a small opportunity for photos and questions in Windsor.

Read more: Meghan Markle coaches intern on video call ahead of interview

They also chose to keep his christening private, and did not formally announce who his godparents would be.

He’s unlikely to ever accede to the throne

Archie is already seventh in line to the throne, behind his father Harry. Stepping back as senior royals doesn’t change where he sits, but it’s already very unlikely he would ever take the throne.

That means his life can take a different path, because he is not being trained for a future role.

He won’t follow some royal rules

There are protocol and traditional rules which the royals tend to follow which sometimes perplex onlookers, but without the palace walls, Archie can probably forego these.

For example, Prince George wasn’t seen in public in long trousers until he was about six. He mostly wore shorts before that, following the upper class etiquette that boys wear shorts until they are about eight.

There were some exceptions to this, and he appeared in trousers for a Christmas card in 2018.

One of the first times he was seen at an official event in trousers was actually Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018.

That could show the shorts rule is one Harry and Meghan won’t be worried about following with Archie - though he’s sure to need them in California.

He has dual citizenship

Archie was born in the UK and because Harry is a UK citizen, he is automatically a UK citizen too.

But with his mother being American, he seems to already have US citizenship too. According to the US Department of State, a child born to one American parent in another country can have citizenship if that parent was “physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for five years prior to the person’s birth, at least two of which were after the age of 14”.

Meghan satisfies those requirements so that, following US protocol, it seems like Archie has already got dual citizenship.

He will still be invited to big family events

Archie won’t have to miss out on big family gatherings just because he doesn’t have a title.

He will still be invited to Trooping the Colour, and when he’s older, he might be invited to join the Queen at Royal Ascot.

These events include lots of Royal Family members, including those a bit further down the line of accession and those without titles.