The Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven't sought a title for their newborn son, instead he's expected to be known as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Photo / Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven't sought a title for their newborn son, instead he's expected to be known as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Photo / Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP
Everyone needs their people — for Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, it could be two princes and a princess he'll call cousin.
When great-grandma and eventually, grandpa, are the monarch, when home is a castle or a palace, and when your life is privileged but also cloistered and controlled, there's a good chance those in similar circumstances will be the ones you're most drawn to.
Flinders University South Australia associate professor Giselle Bastin, a House of Windsor expert, said it was likely the 6-day-old son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan, would be close with the children of his father's only sibling.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, pictured in 2018 with their children, from left, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George. Supplied photo / Matt Porteous
It had been the case with the generation before, with Harry and his older brother William, the Duke of Cambridge, close to their similarly-aged cousins Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, and was natural given the environment the royal children grew up in.
"Because they live in a such a closed off world, the only others who understand are those in it as well. So it becomes a kind of support network."
The busy calendar also kept cousins in closer contact than perhaps in non-royal families, she said.
"They're also going to see each other at a million events until the end of time."
There was a chance Archie could share a palatial pad in future with one or all of his cousins, Prince George and the 5-year-old future King's younger siblings, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, 1.
Just a few weeks before the seventh-in-line to the British throne was born, his mum and dad moved out of Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace to Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Kensington Palace is home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children, and cousin Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank moved into the three-bedroom Ivy Cottage, next door to Nottingham Cottage, before they wed in October last year.
The palace is also home to three of the Queen's cousins and their wives.
Prince Michael of Kent, pictured with Sir Peter Blake in Auckland in 1999, is among three cousins of the Queen who live at Kensington Palace. File photo / Russell Smith
Archie's high position in the royal family meant he would always have a home, Bastin said.
"He won't have to apply for a [first-home buyer] loan."
Princess Eugenie and her sister Princess Beatrice don't get any of the Sovereign Grant — the annual cut of profits from the Crown Estate that bankrolls the Royal Household.
Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice are the first cousins of a future King and have enjoyed a life in the spotlight. Photo / EuropaNewswire / Gado / Getty Images
But should Archie — also outside the direct line of succession — find himself similarly cut off from the royal payroll in future, he'll be okay.
The Duke of Sussex, thanks to his mother's estate, is independently wealthy, so his son will be too, and there'll also be "various funds around the place that will never see him poor", Bastin said.
"But I can almost guarantee he'll study and work in an enjoyable, social job of some kind, perhaps linked to [the royal family's] philanthropic services — unless he becomes a plumber. I don't think anyone would say 'you can't do that', but families have a way of letting you know what your best options are."
Archie's dad, the Duke of Sussex, second from right, grins as grandmother Queen Elizabeth II smiles during an inspection at Sandhurst in 2006. Photo / Pool Photo AP
Unlike Prince George and possibly Prince Louis, Archie won't have to go through The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
"That's only really if you're in the top five [line of succession]."
But it was possible he'd go anyway, Bastin said.
"Harry will probably talk him into it, because he loved it."
Although is seventh in line to the throne, and will drop further down the line of succession if his older cousins have children, as happened to the cousins of his father and uncle, Archie will always be the cousin of a future king and, thus, in the spotlight.
Zara Tindall, right, with her husband Mike Tindall and their daughters Mia, left, and Lena. Photo / Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images
Interest in previous generations of royal cousins had faded as they got older, but that was changing, Bastin said.
"You used to only really see the Queen's cousins when they turned up at weddings and funerals ... but now with the cousins, [such as] Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, they've always been very much in the public eye. That gives you a sense of what he'll experience."
If he doesn't end up with a title — his parents didn't choose one for him and it's understood he'll be known as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor — the attention may ease a little, as it had for Phillips and Tindall and the Queen's youngest grandchildren, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, compared to their princess cousins.
But Archie would also be the object of fascination because of his own parents - his likeable father and his American, former TV star mother - and their position in the family.
"He belongs to the new, carefully designed, frontline of the House of Windsor. That's Harry and William, and their wives — the fab four."
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, left, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend a Christmas Day service together. Photo / Samir Hussein / Samir Hussein/WireImage
Bastin expected the baby would be a globe-trotter, given his father's interest in Africa and his mother's homeland, and he may also have a different education from his father, who was put on the "Eton, British University and then straight into the royal role treadmill".
"People are already suggesting schools, there's an American school near Windsor ... and I wouldn't be surprised if he grows up and goes to an American university."
University of Auckland child development expert, Dr Annette Henderson, said growing up the cousin of a future king could make a child feel "angry and jealous" if they were slighted because of it.
So it was about focusing on "what they could do, and not what they couldn't do".
Archie Mountbatten-Windsor must be given the space to find his own identity, a child development expert says. Photo / Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP
There was also a danger that media coverage could portray jealousy that might not exist, as was the case around some coverage of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Either way, helping him develop self-confidence was important, she said.
"It's about being given space to step out of the shadow of your cousin, or your [famous] parent, to develop independent thoughts ... to try different things and then you figure out what you can do, and how you can contribute."
