Prince Harry and Meghan Markle discussed the possibility of changing their family’s last name to match his late mother, Princess Diana.
Us Weekly has learned that Harry, 40, had a conversation with his uncle Charles Spencer about taking on the family name. Charles, 61, was reportedly “enthusiastic and supportive” of the possible name change, according to a report from U.K. outlet The Guardian published on Wednesday, June 4.
The Guardian report revealed that the surname discussion came amid “repeated delays” in the process of getting British passports for Harry and Meghan’s kids, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4. (The passports were eventually issued nearly six months after the initial application date.)
The same report speculated that the delays came because Harry and Meghan, 43, had included the titles HRH on Archie and Lili’s applications. The Guardian reported that Harry wants his children to keep the titles so they can “decide for themselves” if they want to take on roles as working royals. (Harry and Meghan parted ways with the royal family in 2020.)
Wednesday’s report came days after The Mail on Sunday initially reported that Charles advised Harry against taking the Spencer name. Us understands that this is an inaccurate representation of Harry’s conversation with his uncle.
Reports regarding the surname come amid Harry’s ongoing rift with the royal family, which recently deepened following the Duke of Sussex’s legal loss last month.
On May 2, a judge ruled against Harry’s appeal for government-funded security in the U.K. for him and Meghan. After the ruling, Harry claimed that his father, King Charles III, “won’t speak to me” and pleaded for the feud to end.
“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” he said at the time. “Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has.”
Harry also alluded to his father being involved in the legal loss.
“There is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands,” Harry told the BBC. “Ultimately, this whole thing could be resolved through him. Not necessarily by intervening, but by stepping aside, allowing the experts [to] do what is necessary.”
Harry stated that he had “forgiven” the royals. “There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,” he added, noting that “it would be nice to reconcile.”
His public plea has also caused deeper issues with Harry and his brother, Prince William, who was “absolutely appalled” by the recent comments, a source told Us Weekly exclusively in this week’s cover story.
“There is no turning back for William,” the same insider shared. “The door is firmly shut.”
