The Duke and Duchess of Sussex explored the idea of changing their family name to Spencer amid repeated delays by British officials to issue passports for their children, the Guardian has been told.<\/p>\n
The suggestion was a result of \u201csheer exasperation\u201d and came during a face-to-face meeting between Prince Harry<\/a> and his uncle Earl Spencer. He was understood to be enthusiastic and supportive of the name change.<\/p>\n Adopting the birth name of his mother, Diana, would probably have further deepened the rift between the Harry and the royal family<\/a>, which shows no signs of being healed.<\/p>\n However, the discussion became moot because the UK passports for Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were finally issued almost six months after the initial applications \u2013 days after lawyers for the Sussexes sent a letter threatening to pursue a data subject access request.<\/p>\n This could have revealed details of the delays \u2013 and the nature of any behind-the-scenes discussions between British officials responsible for issuing the documents.<\/p>\n One source told the Guardian that the duke and duchess had feared that UK officials were dragging their feet because the passport applications included the titles HRH (His\/Her Royal Highness) for both children.<\/p>\n The applications also used the surname Sussex, which the family had already started using publicly; until 2023, Archie had US and British passports under the name Mountbatten-Windsor.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids,\u201d a source close to the Sussexes said.<\/p>\n The standard wait time for a passport is three weeks. But after three months without receiving them because of \u201ctechnical issues\u201d, it is understood Harry and Meghan reapplied using the 24-hour passport service, only to have their meeting cancelled at the last minute owing to a \u201csystems failure.\u201d<\/p>\n The source claimed that \u201cthe king hadn\u2019t 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\u201d.<\/p>\n The source added: \u201cHarry 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.<\/p>\n \u201cOut of sheer exasperation he went to his uncle to effectively say: \u2018My family are supposed to have the same name and they\u2019re stopping that from happening because the kids are legally HRH, so if push comes to shove, if this blows up and they won\u2019t let the kids be called Sussex, then can we use Spencer as a surname?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The Guardian understands that Prince Harry wants to keep the HRH titles for his children so that when they grow older they can decide for themselves whether they want to become working royals, or stay out of public life.<\/p>\n He and Meghan dropped the honorific in 2020 as part of the arrangement<\/a> agreed with Queen Elizabeth II when they stopped performing royal duties.<\/p>\n The couple are believed to have been angered by a report in the Mail on Sunday earlier this week, which claimed Earl Spencer had advised Harry not to change his name, saying the legal hurdles were insurmountable. \u201cIt\u2019s completely untrue,\u201d a source said.<\/p>\n