Reason why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were 'almost forced' to change Archie and Lilibet’s names

In the months following the birth of their daughter Princess Lilibet back in 2021, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were faced with a very tough decision.

According to The Guardian - who reportedly received their intel from an inside source - Harry reached out to his uncle Charles Spencer (9th Earl Spencer) with the suggestion of them amending their children's surnames.

Now, anyone who recently caught up with Meghan's recently-released lifestyle series, As Ever, Meghan, on Netflix will already be well aware, but the family are said to have used 'Sussex' as their official surname for some time.

This is because, despite resigning from his royal responsibilities back in 2020, Harry and Meghan have retained their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

On the show, after celebrity gal pal Mindy Kaling accidentally called her 'Markle', the mother-of-two became amused.

"It's so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know I'm Sussex now," she explained.

"You have kids and you go 'No, I share my name with my children'. I didn't know how meaningful it would be to me but it just means so much to go 'This is OUR family name. Our little family name'."

In an interview with PEOPLE Magazine from around the same time, Meghan revealed that the name had been bestowed upon her and Harry by the late Queen Elizabeth II on their 2018 wedding day.

In the years prior to the former Suits actress' announcement, it is understood that she and her husband went to Charles Spencer - the brother to Harry's late mother, Princess Diana - to discuss changing their family's surname.

But why?

The passport office were reportedly reluctant to issue the children passports (Instagram@/meghan)

Apparently, the suggestion was made on the basis that Harry and Meghan had been subjected to repeated delays on the part of British officials, who were seemingly reluctant to issue Lilibet and son Archie, now six, with passports.

According to the publication, the Sussexes endured 'sheer exasperation' over their kids' travel documents for several months.

"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 explained.

"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?'."

Despite the pair reportedly deliberating the decision to change their name for some time, they were eventually relieved of having to make it, with their two children being issued passports six months after the original application stage.

The couple were eventually relieved of the decision (Toby Melville - Pool/Getty Images)

This supposedly only occurred, however, after Harry and Meghan's lawyers issued a threatening letter, vowing they'd pursue a data subject access request, which would have demanded an explanation for the delay.

"There was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids," a source told the publication.

They added that the possible reason was 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."

A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex told the Guardian: “We do not comment on private issues pertaining to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children.”

Buckingham Palace told the publication it did not comment on personal matters related to the Royals, but denied trying to block passports with HRH initials for Archie and Lilibet.

Tyla has contacted Buckingham Palace for a comment.