Following the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in May, there has been no shortage of questions surrounding the new arrival.
From when the baby will meet his royal family members to where he will live, speculation about every aspect of the child’s life is rife.
However, one of the most pressing questions among royal fans concerns the child’s nationality.
Is the baby a UK or a US citizen? Or does it have dual citizenship?
While it has not been confirmed what citizenship the baby was born with, current laws dictate that Markle and Prince Harry are able to apply for dual citizenship for their child.
As the child of Prince Harry, the royal baby is automatically be a British citizen, due to its father’s UK citizenship.
The UK government states that a person is considered a British citizen if at least one of their parents “was a British or Irish citizen” when they were born. But, what about Markle’s American roots?
According to the US Department of State, a baby born outside the United States to one American parent can acquire US citizenship if the American parent has been present in the country prior to the birth for at least five years.
Two of these years have to have been spent in the country before they turned 14.
As Markle was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California, she satisfies that quota, meaning the parents are able to apply for dual citizenship for their son.
However, should Markle choose to renounce her citizenship, this would become less likely.
Markle relocated to London in 2017 when the couple announced their engagement.
While she did not automatically become a British citizen following their marriage in May 2018, it has been suggested that Markle will eventually change her citizenship.
“She intends to become a UK citizen and will go through the process of that, which some of you may know takes a number of years,“ Jason Knauf, Prince Harry's communications secretary told the BBC in December 2017.
That journey cannot begin until Markle has spent 12 months living in the UK so, in the meantime, Knauf revealed that Markle would be "compliant with immigration requirements at all times".
According to royal expert Kelly Lynch, the royal baby made history as the first Anglo-American to be born into the royal family.
“No one in royal history has had an American mother,” Lynch told Time.
“It will be fairly interesting to see what happens.”
Find out everything we know about the royal baby so far here.
