Palace denies King Charles ‘delayed Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet’s UK passports’ over royal titles
Buckingham Palace has denied claims passports for Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were “delayed” due to their royal titles.
The Guardian reported yesterday (Wednesday June 4) parents Prince Harry and Meghan Markle considered a surname change for the children amid fears King Charles “hadn’t wanted Archie and Lili to carry [their] titles”.
Although not born a prince or princess, the monarch’s grandchildren through his second son attained such status when he ascended to the throne.
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet passport claims
However, in a connection with another royal story reported on in recent weeks, it was claimed Prince Harry consulted his uncle Charles Spencer about Archie and Lilibet taking the Duke of Sussex’s mother’s maiden name – Spencer.
And now, The Guardian reports that development was due to “sheer exasperation” at repeated delays by British officials.
The newspaper claims the Sussexes waited almost six months for their children’s passports to be issued. But there were allegedly concerns applications were “blocked” due to the use of HRH (His/Her Royal Highness).
The passport applications allegedly included the titles HRH as well as the surname, Sussex, for both children.
A source is quoted as saying King Charles hadn’t wanted the grandchildren to carry titles, “most of all the HRH”. They reportedly continued: “The British passports, once created, would be the first and perhaps the only legal proof of their names.”
‘A string of excuses’
Additionally, the insider – said to be close to the Sussexes – is said to have added: “Prince 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.
‘Can we use Spencer as a surname?’
“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?’”
Why were passports ‘delayed’?
Passport applications often take three weeks to process. But according to The Guardian the Sussexes reapplied following a three-month delay put down to “technical issues”.
Prince Harry and Meghan are then said to have used a 24-hour service to secure passports for Archie and Lilibet. However, a meeting was said to have been cancelled at the last minute owing to a “systems failure”.
A letter allegedly mentioning pursuing a data subject access request to uncover details concerning the delays reportedly followed.
