Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly "feared" that the lengthy delay in the issuance of U.K. passports for their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, was due to King Charles III's alleged opposition to the use of their royal titles.
According to the Guardian, the couple considered changing their family's last name to Spencer due to their "sheer exasperation" over the unexplained months-long wait for the legal documents.
Per the outlet, the 40-year-old Duke of Sussex had a face-to-face discussion with his uncle, Earl Charles Spencer, about the idea of taking his late mother Princess Diana's surname for his family.
However, the idea of the prospective name change was dropped when the passports for Harry and Meghan's son Archie, 6, and daughter Lilibet, 4, arrived almost six months after their applications were first submitted.
According to the Guardian, the standard waiting period for passports in the U.K. is three weeks.
PRINCE HARRY DEEPENS FAMILY RIFT BY REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING NAME CHANGE: EXPERT
"There was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids," a source close to the Sussexes told the outlet.
According to a source that spoke with the Guardian, British officials were allegedly "dragging their feet because the passport applications included the titles HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) for both children."
The source went on to claim that "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."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
A representative for Buckingham Palace told the Telegraph that they strongly deny that Charles or palace officials had any involvement in the delay regarding the passports for Archie and Lilibet.
The spokesperson told the outlet, "No," when asked if the palace made any suggestion or raised any objection to the children's passports being issued with the HRH titles.
Meanwhile, the source told the Guardian that "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."
The source continued, "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?'"
Fox News Digital confirmed that Harry did have a meeting with Earl Spencer in which they discussed the name change. However, a source said that earlier reports that Earl Spencer told the Duke, "the legal hurdles were insurmountable," and his uncle "advised him against taking such a step" were "wholly inaccurate."
A spokesperson for the duke told Fox News Digital, "We do not comment on private issues pertaining to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children."
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According to the Guardian, the Sussexes faced multiple delays while trying to obtain their children's passports.
The outlet reported that the children's passports were finally issued shortly after the couple's lawyers sent a letter to the U.K.'s Home Office in which they threatened to submit a data subject access request.
Per the Guardian, the request "could have revealed details of the delays - and the nature of any behind-the-scenes discussions between British officials responsible for issuing the documents."
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Earlier this week, People magazine reported that Archie and Lilbet have Mountbatten-Windsor listed as their last names on their birth certificates.
However, the family now uses Sussex as their last name, just as Harry was known as "Harry Wales" during his childhood when his parents held the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales. It's a tradition within the royal family for children to take their parents' titles as a surname.
Harry and Meghan no longer use their HRH titles since stepping down as working royals in January 2020. At the time, Buckingham Palace said in a statement, "The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family."
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However, the Sussexes announced in 2023 that their children would keep their HRH titles and the royal family's website updated their line of succession to include Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex, listed right after their father.
"The children's titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch. This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace," a spokesperson for the Sussexes confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time.
According to the Guardian, "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."
