That's not really the case.... the 80s were a very different time than the late 90s and a lot had changed. Male line grandchildren of the monarch were always hrhs with princely titles for example the Gloucesters and the Kents. Between the Yorks being born and the Wessexes being married the BRF went through a particularly hard time in the early to mid 90s, there was more focus on the cost of the family and Charles had made it known his desire for a slimmed down monarchy. Edward and Sophie saw the writing on the wall and knew their children would never be working members of the Royal family and the public perception would be much better if their children were styles as the children of an Earl. Anne's children were never entitled to hrh titles. Had her and Mark Phillips not declined the earldom offered on their wedding day Peter and Zara would have been styled as the children of an earlBasically, because he demanded it and anne and Edward didn't.