Prince Harry was reportedly left infuriated after delays in getting British passports for his children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet

Charles’ fallout with Harry is widely known (Image: Getty Images)

Prince Harry reportedly faced challenges when attempting to secure British passports for his two children, six year old Prince Archie and four year old Princess Lilibet. The saga is said to have left Royal insiders puzzled.

The Duke of Sussex allegedly encountered delays in obtaining the official documents for his offspring, partly, it is reported, due to his wish to include their Royal titles on the passports.

According to a report by The Guardian, Harry and his wife Meghan were informed that the passports for their children had been delayed due to technical issues. Consequently, they re-applied using the 24-hour service available, only for the necessary meeting to be cancelled.

It’s reported that the couple sent a legal letter threatening to request the data related to the issues. The passports were finally issued just days later, six months after the process began – a typical passport application in the UK usually takes about three weeks, reports the Mirror.

During this lengthy process, Harry was said to be so frustrated that he even contemplated applying for the passports under his late mother, Princess Diana’s, family name of Spencer. Archie already possessed a British passport under the name Mountbatten-Windsor, but the new document would have used the name Sussex, along with his Royal title of prince and the styling ‘HRH’.

A source close to the Sussex family has claimed that there was a disagreement over Archie and Lili’s titles and British passports, stating “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.”

Buckingham Palace has vehemently denied any involvement by the King or palace aides in the delay of the children’s passports, as reported by The Telegraph.

It has also been suggested that Prince Harry is eager for his children to bear the ‘Royal Highness’ title, allowing them to choose whether they wish to become working members of the Royal Family or remain out of the limelight when they grow up.

However, this assertion has reportedly caused confusion among insiders, with talk of “bemusement in royal circles” surrounding the concept.

In 2020, Harry and Meghan relinquished their ‘HRH’ titles when they decided to step back from their roles as working royals, marking a complete departure from the monarchy. The Sunday Times, in an article commemorating Prince William’s 43rd birthday, speculated that “Under the next reign, roles for Archie and Lili as working royals are unlikely.”