Newest Addition To Royal Family May Be American

The Royal Baby is due any day now. But will the child of Meghan Markle, an American citizen married to a British prince, be considered an American citizen too?

With possible plans to spend a part of their first baby’s early childhood in Africa, one of the first photos the offspring of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle poses for could end up being in a passport,” CNN reported. “But what kind of passport? With a British father and an American mother, will the infant royal be a citizen of one of the two countries or both?”

The most likely answer is that the child will automatically become a British citizen, but is eligible for U.S. citizenship as well.

“According to the U.S. government’s official guidelines, ‘A child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents may acquire U.S. citizenship at birth if certain statutory requirements are met.’ As Meghan was born and raised in California and has resided in the United States for at least five years after the age of fourteen, her child would thereby be eligible for American citizenship,” Harper’s Bazaar reports. “Meghan and Harry will need to “contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate to apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America,” per the official guidelines. And as Associated Press reports, ‘It will be up to them to decide if they want to do so,’ meaning that Meghan and Harry could choose to forgo joint citizenship for their child. Without the appropriate paperwork filed, the royal baby won’t technically be an American.”

It seems the Royal Baby’s U.S. citizenship won’t be relevant for at least a few years: rumor has it that Prince Harry and his new princess are considering moving to Africa to focus on humanitarian work.