Britain's Prince Harry explored changing surname to Spencer

5/6/2025 6:15

Britain's Prince Harry and

his wife Meghan explored the idea of changing their family name

to Spencer amid months of delays in their two children receiving

British passports, the Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday.



Harry, the Duke of Sussex, believed that the passport delays

were the result of British officials blocking the applications

over the use of the Sussex surname and HRH titles (his or her

royal highness) for his children, the newspaper said, citing an

unnamed source.



A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the

prince had a meeting with his late mother Diana's brother,

Charles Spencer, to discuss the family name.



The source also said other media reports which said Spencer

had advised Harry against changing his surname and that the

legal hurdles to doing so were insurmountable, were inaccurate.



Harry, the younger son of King Charles, stepped down from

royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where he lives

with Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet.



Since leaving, he and Meghan have been highly critical of

the royals in TV documentaries, an explosive interview with U.S.

chat show host Oprah Winfrey and most notably in Harry's

best-selling biography "Spare." The prince is barely on speaking

terms with either his father or his elder brother, heir to the

throne Prince William.



In a BBC interview last month, Harry said he wanted

reconciliation with the British royal family, but that his

father King Charles will not speak to him over a separate row

about his security.