Harry Becomes Duke of Sussex Before Wedding

On 19/05/2018, Prince Harry was formally created Duke of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth II on the morning of his wedding to Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. The announcement followed a long-standing royal tradition in which the monarch bestows peerage titles on senior male members of the Royal Family at the time of their marriage. Alongside the dukedom, Prince Harry received two subsidiary titles: Earl of Dumbarton, associated with Scotland, and Baron Kilkeel, linked to Northern Ireland. These titles form part of the British peerage system and reflect the different constituent parts of the United Kingdom. Following the conferral, Prince Harry became His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex in official usage. Upon their marriage later that day, Meghan Markle assumed the title Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex. She became the first individual to hold and use this specific title, as there had been no previous Duke of Sussex whose wife used the designation in modern royal practice. The creation of these titles marked a formal change in Prince Harry’s status within the Royal Family, aligning with ceremonial and constitutional customs observed during royal marriages.