Prince Harry mulled changing surname to Spencer: report
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan explored the idea of changing their family name to Spencer amid months of delays in their two children receiving passports from the United Kingdom, the Guardian newspaper reports.
Harry, the Duke of Sussex, believed that the passport delays were the result of UK officials blocking the applications over the use of the Sussex surname and HRH titles (his or her royal highness) for his children, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed source.
A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the prince had a meeting with his late mother Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, to discuss the family name.
The source also said other media reports which said Spencer had advised Harry against changing his surname and that the legal hurdles to doing so were insurmountable, were inaccurate.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles, stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where he lives with Meghan and their two children Archie and Lilibet.
Since leaving, he and Meghan have been highly critical of the royals in TV documentaries, an explosive interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey and most notably in Harry's best-selling biography Spare.
The prince is barely on speaking terms with either his father or his elder brother, heir to the throne Prince William.
In a BBC interview last month, Harry said he wanted reconciliation with the royal family but that his father King Charles will not speak to him over a separate row about his security.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan explored the idea of changing their family name to Spencer amid months of delays in their two children receiving passports from the United Kingdom, the Guardian newspaper reports.
Harry, the Duke of Sussex, believed that the passport delays were the result of UK officials blocking the applications over the use of the Sussex surname and HRH titles (his or her royal highness) for his children, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed source.
A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the prince had a meeting with his late mother Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, to discuss the family name.
The source also said other media reports which said Spencer had advised Harry against changing his surname and that the legal hurdles to doing so were insurmountable, were inaccurate.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles, stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where he lives with Meghan and their two children Archie and Lilibet.
Since leaving, he and Meghan have been highly critical of the royals in TV documentaries, an explosive interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey and most notably in Harry's best-selling biography Spare.
The prince is barely on speaking terms with either his father or his elder brother, heir to the throne Prince William.
In a BBC interview last month, Harry said he wanted reconciliation with the royal family but that his father King Charles will not speak to him over a separate row about his security.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan explored the idea of changing their family name to Spencer amid months of delays in their two children receiving passports from the United Kingdom, the Guardian newspaper reports.
Harry, the Duke of Sussex, believed that the passport delays were the result of UK officials blocking the applications over the use of the Sussex surname and HRH titles (his or her royal highness) for his children, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed source.
A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the prince had a meeting with his late mother Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, to discuss the family name.
The source also said other media reports which said Spencer had advised Harry against changing his surname and that the legal hurdles to doing so were insurmountable, were inaccurate.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles, stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where he lives with Meghan and their two children Archie and Lilibet.
Since leaving, he and Meghan have been highly critical of the royals in TV documentaries, an explosive interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey and most notably in Harry's best-selling biography Spare.
The prince is barely on speaking terms with either his father or his elder brother, heir to the throne Prince William.
In a BBC interview last month, Harry said he wanted reconciliation with the royal family but that his father King Charles will not speak to him over a separate row about his security.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan explored the idea of changing their family name to Spencer amid months of delays in their two children receiving passports from the United Kingdom, the Guardian newspaper reports.
Harry, the Duke of Sussex, believed that the passport delays were the result of UK officials blocking the applications over the use of the Sussex surname and HRH titles (his or her royal highness) for his children, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed source.
A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the prince had a meeting with his late mother Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, to discuss the family name.
The source also said other media reports which said Spencer had advised Harry against changing his surname and that the legal hurdles to doing so were insurmountable, were inaccurate.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles, stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where he lives with Meghan and their two children Archie and Lilibet.
Since leaving, he and Meghan have been highly critical of the royals in TV documentaries, an explosive interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey and most notably in Harry's best-selling biography Spare.
The prince is barely on speaking terms with either his father or his elder brother, heir to the throne Prince William.
In a BBC interview last month, Harry said he wanted reconciliation with the royal family but that his father King Charles will not speak to him over a separate row about his security.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
9 hours ago
- Sky News AU
'Overloading lies': Social media conspiracists claim Meghan Markle faking pregnancy in 'AI-generated' hospital twerking video
Social media conspiracists have taken aim at Meghan Markle's hospital twerking video taken during labour with Princess Lilibet, with many claiming she was not pregnant at all during the infamous clip. In the clip shared by the Duchess of Sussex on Instagram on Thursday, she can be seen moving to the viral Baby Mama dance to help induce Lilibet's birth in celebration of the Sussexes' daughter's fourth birthday. "Four years ago today, this also happened," Meghan, 43, wrote in the caption. "Both of our children were a week past their due dates…so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn't work - there was only one thing left to do!" However, several critics on Twitter claimed the ex-working royal's bump was too high and wrongly shaped to be real. Other people alleged Meghan's ability to dance at more than 40 weeks pregnant meant she was a "superhuman" or her pregnancy was a sham. "This is crazy. I do not for one second believe this video is real. Who the heck dances like that when readying to labour? No one," one person said. "The bump is mishappen and she still doesn't look pregnant. Overloading lies. AI video." Another person questioned why Meghan was not linked to an IV drip to receive medication nor wearing a hospital gown. "She's not in a hospital gown, not hooked up to a baby monitor," they said. "They wouldn't have started an IV on her when she was still in her street clothes and wouldn't have unhooked it so she could dance." One more person who claimed to be a nurse echoed the sentiment and said Prince Harry's wife would have had a cannula in her hand in labour. Another person said Meghan would not have had the tube inserted into a vein to administer medication while wearing her own clothes. In the video, the Duke of Sussex can be seen pressing play on the baby mama hit by Starrkeisha before busting out his own moves to the tune. Meanwhile, Meghan starts to twerk before the couple move into a rhythm together and gyrate around the room. The mother of two shared four previously unseen photos of Lilibet to mark the special day of the seventh in line to the British throne shortly after midnight on Wednesday, Los Angeles time. In one, Harry held baby Lilibet wrapped in a blanket, while a second photo showed the barefoot father and daughter duo holding hands. In the caption, Meghan said her husband and daughter have the "sweetest bond to watch unfold." "Daddy's little girl and favourite adventurer, Happy birthday, Lili!" she said. More heart-warming black and white pictures showed the mother of two cradling Lilibet on a boat and holding the baby princess in a blanket. The young royal's eyes could be seen on the boat, marking a move away from the Sussexes' typically releasing only images of the backs of Archie and Lilibet's heads as a way to protect their children's privacy. Meghan further said "each day is brighter and better" because the Sussexes welcomed Prince Archie's sister four years ago. Lilibet was born in California in 2021 after her parents stepped back from their royal duties. She was named Lilibet after her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, while her middle name Diana is in tribute to Harry's late mother. It's understood the princess has only met her grandfather King Charles once, when the Sussexes visited the UK for the Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
Perth Now
15 hours ago
- Perth Now
Hugh Bonneville reflects on filming the Downton Abbey finale movie without Dame Maggie Smith
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will act as a "proper tribute" to Dame Maggie Smith. The upcoming film is the final in the franchise and after the passing of the legendary 'Harry Potter' actress - who starred as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham throughout the initial series and then again in its first two spin-off films but died in 2024 at the age of 89 - and now her former co-star Hugh Bonneville has reflected on just how "poignant" it was to shoot it without her. Speaking on BBC's The One Show, he said: "It was quite poignant making the last film knowing that her character had passed away and then in real life, she passed away after we finished filming. "So, really, this final film will be a proper tribute to her and to the show, which is coming to an end after 15 years." The death of Maggie - whose 'Downton' alter ego, the Dowager Countess, passed away in the second movie, 2022's 'Downton Abbey: A New Era' - was announced on 27 September by her two sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens. They said in a statement: 'She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. The Grand Finale film is scheduled for release in cinemas on 12 September, and will be the final chapter in the Downton Abbey franchise. Writer Julian Fellowes has returned to pen the script, with much of the original cast reprising their roles, including Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Penelope Wilton and Lesley Nicol. Additional returning actors include Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sophie McShera, Douglas Reith and Dominic West. New cast members for the film feature Paul Giamatti, Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale and Arty Froushan.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Ibis, wombat or blue heeler? Former Bluey designer steps up in 2032 mascot quest
'I want the Olympic mascot to be something we can actually be proud of, something that's authentic to who we are and leaves no one behind... 'As far as I know, I'm one of the few people experienced in leading big design teams in showcasing Brisbane to the world.' Drummond was Bluey's original lead designer but quit the show after its first season. 'If you draw one background on Bluey, you've kind of drawn them all, and I had quite literally drawn every background on Bluey, more or less, at that point,' she said. 'I think ultimately that was the right decision, even though it was, you know, the opportunity of a lifetime.' Drummond said she in fact teamed up with her former colleagues at Ludo Studio to petition the Palaszczuk government back in 2022 for a chance to design the mascot. She said it was unlikely that Bluey herself could be the Olympic mascot due to rights issues with the BBC and Disney. 'If we can't get Bluey as the mascot, why not the next best thing, which would be the people who designed Bluey?' she said. Ludo Studio was approached for comment. Drummond said that designing Olympic mascots was a risky enterprise. 'Trying to represent everything and everyone, you end up representing no one,' she said. The much-criticised Wenlock and Mandeville, mascots of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, were an example of what could go wrong. 'Behold the one-eyed compromise monster,' jeered the Toronto Globe and Mail at the time, comparing the mascots to 'a drunken one-night stand between a Teletubby and a Dalek'. 'I'm sure [the Brisbane mascot] should have some kind of a sense of humour about it,' Drummond said. 'I think it should represent our amazing wildlife in some shape or form. And beyond that, it's just a matter of opening it up to the community.' The Brisbane 2032 spokesperson would not say whether the design would be chosen through a public competition as was Borobi, the koala mascot of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Back in 2022, former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that the mascot would be chosen by public vote, while former tourism minister Stirling Hinchliffe hoped it would be an ibis. Palm cockatoos, koalas, dugongs and 'Fatso' the wombat, a joke mascot first proposed by comedians Roy and HG for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, have also featured in the discussion. After 24 hours Drummond's post had 1300 likes and plenty of supportive comments. 'If I was the CEO of Olympics you'd have the job yesterday'; 'You would be perfect for this'; and 'Olympics! Hire this woman now!' were some of the responses. A Queenslander currently based in Melbourne, Drummond said that her Instagram post was aimed less at the Organising Committee and more at creative agencies. 'I think if I could pair up with an advertising agency that I could trust to do a good job, that would probably be the best scenario in all of this,' she said.
