Earl Charles Spencer’s warning has left Prince Harry at a crossroads over the Sussex family surname, according to new claims.
The Earl is understood to have advised Prince Harry against changing his family name to Spencer during what was described as an amicable conversation between the uncle and nephew.
The Duke of Sussex was warned off the move due to legal hurdles that would complicate such a change.
"They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step", a friend of the Duke told the Mail on Sunday.
Earl Charles Spencer’s warning leaves Prince Harry at a crossroads over family surname.
PA
The Earl's counsel came after Harry approached him about potentially adopting his late mother, Princess Diana's surname, during a rare visit to Britain.
Prince Harry asked his uncle, the Earl Spencer, about changing his family name from Mountbatten-Windsor to Spencer during a recent visit to Britain.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, sought advice from the 61-year-old Earl about whether to assume his mother's surname.
Such a change would have meant dropping the Mountbatten-Windsor name currently used by his children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, three.
Prince Harry's rift with his father 'runs deep' according to a source.
PAThe Duke's apparent desire to abandon the Royal Family name reflects the growing rift with his relatives following his departure from royal duties.
Mountbatten-Windsor is the surname available to descendants of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The name combines the British Royal Family's House name of Windsor with Prince Philip's adopted surname of Mountbatten.
Queen Elizabeth II confirmed the Royal Family name of Windsor following her accession to the throne in 1952.
However, in 1960, the late Queen and then Duke of Edinburgh elected for their direct descendants to carry the name Mountbatten-Windsor.
Earl Spencer invited the Sussexes to stay with his family at the Althorp estate, according to insiders.
PAOn their birth certificates, Harry's children are listed as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
However, it was revealed last year that they had started using "Sussex" as the official surname for their children.
The Duke's request to change his surname speaks to the growing rift with his family following his departure from royal duties.
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Princess Diana pictured with her sons Prince William and Prince Harry in 1991.
GettyAn interview with the BBC last month, in which he made a series of comments about the Royal Family, is understood to have deepened the divide between Buckingham Palace and the Duke and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
The BBC interview appears to have further strained relations between Harry and the royal establishment.
His apparent desire to abandon the Mountbatten-Windsor name entirely reflects the continuing deterioration in his relationship with the Royal Family since stepping back from official duties.
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