Harry and Meghan feared King Charles delayed their kids passports over name row

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly met with a “string of excuses” while trying to obtain passports for their kids over one sticking point.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are said to have feared that King Charles had delayed the issuing of Archie and Lilibet’s passports over the use of their HRH titles.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex waited nearly six months for their children’s official documents to be issued — and believed that their application had been “blocked” by the monarch, The Guardian reports.

In their submitted applications, the couple listed Archie and Lilibet’s last names as Sussex -which the family had started using in place of their previous surname, Mountbatten-Windsor.

“There was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids,” a source close to the Sussexes told the outlet.

Prince Harry holds his newborn daughter Lilibet. Picture: Instagram

The insider claimed Charles, 76, “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.”

Meanwhile, it was recently claimed that Harry sought out his uncle Earl Spencer’s counsel about taking his late mother’s last name during a recent trip to the UK.

The source added that the Invictus Games founder had asked for his uncle’s advice out of “sheer exasperation.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were embroiled in a row over the names to appear on the documents.

A spokesperson for the duke told the New York Post, “We do not comment on private issues pertaining to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children.”

The Post understands that Harry’s meeting with Earl Spencer about the family name did go ahead, however, recent reports alleging that Spencer had warned that the legal process would be overly complex are “wholly inaccurate.”

Buckingham Palace released a statement over Harry and the Suits star’s HRH titles after the couple announced their departure from royal life in 2020.

“The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the royal family,” the palace said at the time.

Prince Harry and King Charles, pictured here in 2019, have only seen one another a handful of times in recent years. Picture: Getty Images

While no laws were put in place to prevent the duo from referring to themselves as His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness, the pair did tell the late Queen Elizabeth II they would adhere to the agreement.

As grandchildren of the king, Archie and Lilibet would have retained their HRH titles had they remained within the royal fold.

However, after their parents stepped down as senior members of the royal family, the legitimacy of their titles was called into question.

Still, palace officials have strongly denied that the king had anything to do with Archie and Lilibet’s passport application process.

Although the standard processing time for a British passport is around three weeks, the Sussexes reportedly faced a three-month delay due to unspecified “technical issues.”

In response, they reportedly submitted a new application through the urgent 24-hour fast-track service – but their planned meeting was abruptly called off at the eleventh hour, allegedly due to a “systems failure.”

Harry and Meghan fled Britain in 2020. Picture: Instagram

Archie and Lilibet’s passports were ultimately granted shortly after Harry and Meghan’s legal team issued a strongly worded letter indicating they would file a data subject access request.

“Harry was at a point where British passports for his children with their updated Sussex surnames (since the death of Elizabeth II) were being blocked with a string of excuses over the course of five months,” a source told the outlet.

“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 children now have British passports.

Unsurprisingly, the move likely would not have been well received by King Charles and Prince William, both of whom have long taken pride in the Mountbatten-Windsor name.

As it stands, members of the monarchy who are descendants of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip can take up the Mountbatten-Windsor last name.

The family name combines the Windsor name with Philip’s adopted surname of Mountbatten.

It’s been reported that the “Spare” author, 40, wants his children to retain their HRH titles, allowing them the freedom to decide in the future whether to return to royal duties or continue building their lives in the US.

Last month, frustrated Brits demanded that Harry and Meghan be stripped of their royal titles, telling The Post in exasperation, “Enough is enough.”