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.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were said to have feared King Charles had delayed Archie and Lilibet’s passports over their HRH titles 

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

A second image also posted by Meghan showed her tenderly cradling newborn Princess Lilibet as she enjoyed skin-to-skin time with the new addition to her family in 2021

It is understood Prince Harry (right) discussed changing his family name with Earl Spencer (left)

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.

A new photograph of the Duke of Sussex holding Princess Lilibet’s hand as they walked along a sandy road barefoot in the sunshine, while he held his shoes and a cap

The other image was of Prince Harry holding Lilibet as a baby while they looked at each other

The Duchess of Sussex shared the black and white photo of herself cuddling Princess Lilibet, who was sat on her lap, with the pair both sporting windswept hair

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.

A young Prince Harry with his mother Princess Diana during a visit to Majorca in 1987

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.