A royal insider has criticised Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for seeking to preserve their children's royal titles whilst having themselves rejected life within the monarchy.
The criticism follows reports that passport applications for Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet included HRH titles alongside the Sussex surname.
The Guardian revealed that Prince Harry wishes to maintain the HRH titles so his children can decide for themselves whether to undertake royal duties when they reach adulthood.
The source told the Mail: "I find this very hard to understand. Harry and Meghan apparently found official duties and life within the Royal Family unbearable, yet they want this for their children. It doesn't make sense."
A royal insider has criticised Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for seeking to preserve their children's royal titles whilst having themselves rejected life within the monarchy.
Getty
Palace insiders have expressed bewilderment at the couple's apparent contradiction, according to the publication.
The couple relinquished their own use of the HRH honorific as part of their agreement with Queen Elizabeth II when they ceased performing royal duties in 2020.
The passport applications for both children included the titles His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness, alongside the Sussex surname.
British officials took nearly six months to issue UK passports for the Sussex children, far exceeding the standard three-week processing time.
Sources close to the couple indicated they believed UK officials were deliberately stalling because the passport applications included HRH titles for both children and used the Sussex surname.
The couple relinquished their own use of the HRH honorific as part of their agreement with Queen Elizabeth II when they ceased performing royal duties in 2020.
Getty
The passports were finally granted days after solicitors sent a letter threatening to pursue a data subject access request, which could have exposed details of the delays and any behind-the-scenes discussions amongst British officials.
"There was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids," a source close to the Sussexes said.
Prince Harry met with his uncle Earl Spencer to discuss adopting the Spencer surname for his family after reaching a point of "sheer exasperation" with the passport delays, according to insiders.
The Earl was reportedly enthusiastic and supportive of the proposal, which would have seen the family adopt Diana's maiden name.
"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," a source close to the Sussexes said.
LATEST ROYAL NEWS:
Prince Harry met with his uncle Earl Spencer to discuss adopting the Spencer surname for his family after reaching a point of "sheer exasperation" with the passport delays.
Getty
The source explained that Harry told his uncle: "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?"
Sources claimed the King had opposed his grandchildren carrying the HRH titles, particularly concerned about the honorific's use.
The source alleged 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".
Until 2023, Archie had held both US and British passports under the name Mountbatten-Windsor, before the family began using Sussex publicly.
Most Read
