Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wanted to change surname to Spencer 'amid fears Charles was delaying Archie and Lilibet's passports because the application included HRH titles'
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle feared Archie and Lilibet's British passports were being held up at the behest of their grandfather the King over the use of their HRH titles, it was claimed today.
The Sussexes are said to have become 'exasperated' about waiting months for their children's passports to arrive and believed it was being 'blocked' due to the use of their royal titles.
The couple thought the application would take weeks and suspected it was because they wanted HRH on Archie and Lilibet's British travel documents. They then began exploring changing their surname to Spencer - a nod to Princess Diana, as revealed by The Mail on Sunday.
'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', a source close to Harry and Meghan reportedly told The Guardian.
'There was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids'.
The insider has claimed that Harry wanted Archie and Lilibet, whose fourth birthday yesterday was marked with a video of her mother and father twerking before her birth, to have HRH titles so when they are adults they retain the chance to become working royals, should they wish.
However, Buckingham Palace has pushed back on the claims the King or any of his staff intervened.
When asked if there was any objection from Charles or aides to the passports being issued with the HRH titles, a spokesman said: 'No' but declined to comment further.
Buckingham Palace denied that the King or any of his aides had anything to do with the delays in issuing their passports
A gift basket and HRH note sent to Meghan's friend, CEO of IT Cosmetics Jamie Kern Lima. Meghan's spokesman last month denied that has been using it for commercial gain
On their birth certificates, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children are Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
But according to reports their applications used the surname Sussex, not Mountbatten-Windsor, which Archie had on his previous US and British passports.
The average wait for a UK passport is currently around three weeks.
But apparently Harry and Meghan cancelled their initial standard applications after three months and reapplied using the UK Government's 24-hour passport service.
But then their online meeting to fasttrack the applications was eventually cancelled at the 11th hour owing to a 'systems failure.'
The Guardian's source claimed that Harry and Meghan feared officials in the UK were 'dragging their feet' because Archie and Lilibet's passport applications included the titles HRH.
The insider added: '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.
'Out of sheer exasperation he went to his uncle to effectively say: 'My family are supposed to have the same name and they're stopping that from happening because the kids are legally HRH, so if push comes to shove, if this blows up and they won't let the kids be called Sussex, then can we use Spencer as a surname?'.'
The couple then reportedly asked their lawyers to write to the HM Passport Office threatening to pursue a data subject access request relating to Archie and Lilibet's applications.
Days later the two passports were reportedly issued with HRH titles and Sussex as the new surname.
A spokesman for Harry and Meghan said: 'We do not comment on private issues pertaining to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex 's children.'
The Home Office declined to comment.
Meghan Markle posted a video of her and Prince Harry twerking in a hospital room before Lilibet's birth to mark her fourth birthday yesterday
The Sussexes' use of HRH has proved highly controversial because the couple are said to have reassured the Queen that they would not use the title after they emigrated to the US.
But then MailOnline revealed last month that Meghan Markle calls herself Her Royal Highness to friends - but has denied that in doing so she is flouting the Megxit deal agreed with the late monarch.
The former actress, 43, sparked controversy after her friend Jamie Kern Lima shared a picture of a food hamper with a note that said it was 'With the compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex'.
Although no laws were passed or documents signed to prevent their use, Harry and Meghan's agreement with the late Queen and senior officials was that they would stop using the word 'Royal' and their HRH titles after they quit duties and emigrated to the US to become 'financially independent' from the Crown.
A spokesman for the Sussexes insisted that they do not use HRH titles for commercial purposes.
A source close to the royal couple suggested that the image shared by Jamie Kern Lima was taken before the Duchess launched her As Ever brand in early March.
In the podcast, Jamie Kern Lima claimed that she had been sent the jam last year.
The Sussexes have never had their HRH taken away by Queen Elizabeth II or King Charles.
The source close to the couple said that while Meghan and Harry do not publicly use 'HRH ', their titles remain.
Last weekend The Mail on Sunday revealed how Prince Harry sought advice from Princess Diana 's brother about changing his family name to Spencer.
Sources told Richard Eden that the Duke of Sussex actively explored ways to assume his mother's surname – a move that would have involved ditching Mountbatten-Windsor, used by his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
It is understood he discussed the issue with Earl Spencer – whose family seat is Althorp in Northamptonshire – during a rare visit to Britain, but was told that the legal hurdles were insurmountable.
'They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step,' said a friend of Harry.
Nevertheless, the fact that he consulted the Earl over the issue – a proposal that would dismay his brother and father – is a vivid expression of the toxic rift with his family.
Mountbatten-Windsor is the surname available to descendants of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. It combines the Royal Family 's name of Windsor and the Duke of Edinburgh 's adopted surname.
Royal author Tom Bower has claimed that 'Meghan decided her real object in life was to be Diana'. If the name change had succeeded, Meghan's daughter, who is believed to have met the King only once, would have become Lilibet Diana Spencer, a more fulsome tribute to Harry's late mother.
The move would be particularly hurtful to King Charles, who cherishes the Mountbatten name just as his father did.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
39 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trans lobby groups 'lied for years' that anyone self identifying as a different gender could access women's' toilets, equality chief says
Transgender people were misled about their rights to female only spaces by lobby groups, according to a senior member of an equality watchdog has said. In April a Supreme Court ruling confirmed the terms woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. Akua Reindorf, a barrister who is one of eight commissioners at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said trans people had been deceived about their rights were. Speaking in a personal capacity during a debate about the recent ruling, she said there must be a 'period of correction' to acknowledge women's right to women-only spaces. The decision made it legal for trans people to be banned from women-only sports teams, and from using bathrooms and changing rooms for the gender they lived as. These terms were later supported by interim non-statutory advice given by the EHRC last April. When an audience member at the debate raised fears about the recent Supreme Court ruling and how it could strip away trans peoples rights, barrister and panellist, Naomi Cunningham said: 'It can't be helped, I'm afraid.' In agreement with her fellow panellist, Ms Reindorf said she believed trans lobbyists were at faults for the misunderstanding. 'Unfortunately, young people and trans people have been lied to over many years about what their rights are,' she said. 'It's like Naomi said – I just can't say it in a more diplomatic way than that. They have been lied to, and there has to be a period of correction, because other people have rights' She claimed it boiled down to the law prior to the Supreme Court ruling being misunderstood due to groups contending trans people who self-identified should be treated as their preferred gender. However, this was only the case for the those who had obtained a gender recognition certificate (GRC). The barrister said the amalgamation of different rights made the Equality Act nonviable from a personal capacity. 'The catalyst for many to catch up, belatedly, with the fact that the law never permitted self-ID in the first place,' she said. As such, the feeling of a loss of right of trans people was due to an overwhelming product of 'misinformation' perpetrated by 'lobby group and activists'. Author JK Rowling backed the barrister's recent comments, saying lobby groups lied 'about what the law said'.' However, the head of gender justice at Amnesty International UK, Chiara Capraro, hit back Ms Reindorf's comments. She said: 'The EHRC has the duty to uphold the rights of everyone, including all with protected characteristics. We are concerned that it is failing to do so and is unhelpfully pitting the rights of women and trans people against each other.' A spokesman for the EHRC told The Guardian: 'Akua Reindorf KC spoke at this event in a personal capacity. This was made clear at the event and in the video recording published online. 'As Britain's equality regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission upholds and enforces the Equality Act 2010 to ensure everyone is treated fairly, consistent with the Act. 'Our board come from all walks of life and bring with them a breadth of skills and experience. This helps us take impartial decisions, which are always based on evidence and the law.'
Sky News
41 minutes ago
- Sky News
EuroMillions: UK's biggest lottery prize is still up for grabs
There is still the chance for someone to secure the biggest lottery prize the UK has ever seen, after Friday's EuroMillions draw had no winners. The jackpot had rolled over to an estimated £208m, after Tuesday's £199m draw - which also would have been a record-breaking amount - had no winners. The winner would instantly become richer than Adele and Harry Styles, while also bagging the top spot on the National Lottery's biggest wins list. Housing raffles take UK by storm - how likely are you to win? Andy Carter, senior winners' adviser at Allwyn, said: "The EuroMillions jackpot is now capped, so any money that would have gone into increasing the jackpot now boosts prizes in the next winning prize tier. "We could see multiple UK players banking huge prizes for matching just the five main numbers and one Lucky Star." The previous largest prize pot was won by an anonymous UK ticket-holder, who took home £195m on 19 July 2022. Just two months earlier, Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, won £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket. At the time, Joe was a communications sales engineer, and Jess ran a hairdressing salon with her sister. Mr Thwaite said he woke up at 5am as usual, and checked his phone to see an email saying, "Good news, you have won a prize". But he did not immediately wake his wife, choosing to let her sleep in. "I saw how much and I didn't know what to do," Mr Thwaite said. "I couldn't go back to sleep, I didn't want to wake Jess up, so I just laid there for what seemed like forever. I spent some time searching for property with no budget limit, which was a novelty!" When his wife woke up, she assumed the National Lottery app was wrong. 1:24 In February last year, Richard and Debbie Nuttall were revealed as the UK winners of a £61m EuroMillions jackpot - who at first thought they had only won £2.60. The couple from Lancashire split the £123m prize with a winner in Spain.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Arrgh you joking? Tesco pensioner stuns shoppers by bringing his pet PARROT with him to buy groceries
On a balance of probabilities, parrots are more likely to be spotted walking the plank than walking down the ready meals aisle of a major supermarket. But that was exactly the scene that greeted one customer, who was left stunned after spotting a pensioner with a colourful parrot perched upon his shoulder in his local Tesco. Named Bella, the 12-year-old exotic bird prompted the stunned man to capture his unusual encounter on video. Posting the footage to X, the astonished man can't help but exclaim, 'That is something unbelievable. Oh my God,' as he spots the red-and-green macaw. 'See the parrot, man, in Tesco,' he continues. After approaching the otherwise unperturbed owner, the man says: 'How are we uncle, you OK? Lovely parrot, man. How old is it?' After being told the bird is aged 12, the curious bystander asks whether the bird speaks. 'She does when she wants,' replies her owner. Man brings his parrot along with him on his Tesco shop 🦜🛒 (TikTok: mr_w1cked1) — UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) June 6, 2025 He went on to add that she could fly off 'if she wants to', but remained firmly on the man's shoulder as he casually walked down each aisle to pick up his groceries. 'That is good man, you've trained her well,' the surprised customer told the bird owner, before bidding him farewell. Green-winged macaws are the second largest parrots next to the hyacinth macaw and can reach flight speeds of up to 35mph. They have a very powerful beak which can generate a pressure of 2000 psi (pounds per square inch) and have the ability to crack open incredibly hard-shelled nuts, such as Brazil nuts with ease. Parrots mainly eat seeds, fruits, blossoms, buds, leaves, berries, nuts and sometimes bark - and do indeed enjoy the occasional cracker as well.
