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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.
The suggestion was a result of “sheer exasperation” and came during a face-to-face meeting between Prince Harry and his uncle Earl Spencer. He was understood to be enthusiastic and supportive of the name change.
Adopting the birth name of his mother, Diana, would probably have further deepened the rift between the Harry and the royal family, which shows no signs of being healed.
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 – days after lawyers for the Sussexes sent a letter threatening to pursue a data subject access request.
This could have revealed details of the delays – and the nature of any behind-the-scenes discussions between British officials responsible for issuing the documents.
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.
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.
“There was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids,” a source close to the Sussexes said.
The standard wait time for a passport is three weeks. But after three months without receiving them because of “technical issues”, 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 “systems failure.”
The source claimed 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”.
The source 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 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.
He and Meghan dropped the honorific in 2020 as part of the arrangement agreed with Queen Elizabeth II when they stopped performing royal duties.
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. “It’s completely untrue,” a source said.
The Guardian put a series of questions to the Home Office and Buckingham Palace about the delays to the passport applications, and asked whether officials processing the documents had been seeking or taking advice from them.
The Home Office said it was its longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.
Buckingham Palace made clear it would not be commenting on any personal matters relating to members of the royal family. But it denied making any suggestions or objections to the passports being issued with HRH in the titles.
A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said: “We do not comment on private issues pertaining to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children.”
Earl Spencer was also approached but he had not responded at the time of publication.
In May, Harry lost a legal challenge over the level of taxpayer-funded security he is entitled to while in the UK, but it is understood he intends to challenge the ruling.
He had challenged the dismissal of his high court claim against the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as Ravec, that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the country after he stepped down.
The prince considers that his mother, Diana, might still be alive if she had continued to have the security protection offered to other royals.
However, three senior judges at the court of appeal rejected Harry’s claim that he had been “singled out” for “inferior treatment” and that his safety and life were “at stake” after a change in security arrangements that occurred when he stepped down as a working royal and moved abroad.
