Prince Harry wants his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to have the freedom to choose their own paths — including the option to become working royals one day.
Following a report in The Guardian, it has been widely noted that the Duke of Sussex wants his children with wife Meghan Markle to retain their HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles — giving Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4, the choice to potentially have royal roles in the future or lead more private lives.
However, The Sunday Times reported on June 21 — in a piece tied to Prince William’s 43rd birthday — that there is “bemusement in royal circles” at the idea, and that roles for Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4, are unlikely under William’s reign.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Prince Harry said, “We do not comment on private issues pertaining to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children.”
The ongoing rift between Harry and his brother Prince William has been well documented, including in Harry’s memoir Spare. But according to The Sunday Times, a friend of Prince William’s says the heir to the throne’s perspective on the estrangement has shifted.
“What has struck me the most recently is that he just doesn’t mention it at all. It used to be that the family stuff was taking up a lot of space in his head; it was a very close relationship, and he was very upset,” the friend told the outlet. “But he’s not letting it get to him at all anymore. It is a change. It’s sad, but it’s a much healthier space for him to be at.”
Prince William; Prince Harry.
Samir Hussein/WireImage; Carl Court/Getty
The Guardian also reported that recent passport applications for Archie and Lilibet were delayed after being submitted with the HRH titles included. A legal source told the outlet that British government officials appeared to be “dragging their feet,” and that the delay — which stretched nearly six months — became a point of frustration for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. (Standard passport processing time in the U.K. is typically about three weeks.)
One source claimed, “The King hadn’t wanted Archie and Lili to carry the titles, most of all the HRH, and the British passports, once created, would be the first and perhaps the only legal proof of their names.”
Buckingham Palace strongly denied the claim that the King or any of his officials had any role in the delay, The Daily Telegraph reports.
According to The Guardian, “Harry was at a point where British passports for his children with their updated Sussex surnames (since the death of Queen Elizabeth II) were being blocked with a string of excuses over the course of five months.”
Harry consulted his uncle Charles Spencer about the possibility of using the Spencer surname during the impasse.
“There was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids,” a source close to the Sussexes said, according to the outlet.
A source previously confirmed to PEOPLE that the delay was significantly longer than normal.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in March 2020.
Samir Hussein/WireImage
Harry and Meghan retained their HRH titles after stepping back as senior royals in 2020, though a statement from Buckingham Palace at the time made clear: “The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.” Archie and Lilibet began using their “prince” and “princess” titles shortly after their grandfather King Charles acceded to the throne in 2022.
Discussion surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal titles was reignited on April 28, when Meghan appeared as a podcast guest on The Jamie Kern Lima Show. Host Jamie Kern Lima recalled a time Meghan dropped off a gift basket at her house, sharing a photo of a note that said, “With compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex,” set beneath Meghan’s royal cipher.
While Meghan and Harry do not use their HRH titles for public or commercial ventures, their formal titles remain. In this case, the note — from more than a year ago — was part of a personal gift rather than a business-related move.
Upon Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, the couple was granted the royal titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex by Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive cover story earlier this year, Meghan described “Sussex” as the “shared name” she has with Prince Harry and their two children.
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“It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children,” the Duchess of Sussex told PEOPLE. “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”
When Meghan joined The Drew Barrymore Show in March, the host addressed her guest as “Meghan Sussex,” and she also explained the significance of the name to her friend Mindy Kaling on her Netflix show With Love, Meghan.
“You have kids and you go, ‘No, I share my name with my children,’ ” Meghan said on the lifestyle show. “I didn’t know how meaningful that would be to me, but it just means so much to go, this is our family name, our little family name.”