Meghan Markle's name has been quietly changed on her son Archie's birth certificate, taking away her first name and adding royal honorifics.
Archie was born on May 6, 2019, with his birth certificate surprising royal onlookers by revealing Meghan's real given name was Rachel.
The most recent copy of Archie's birth certificate, obtained by The Sun, shows a striking edit, "Rachel Meghan" was replaced with "Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex".
Prince Harry also switched his name up by adding "Prince" to the certificate, completing his title of "His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex".
The changes were made in June 2019, not long before the couple announced they would be cutting ties to the charity they shared with Kate Middleton and Prince William - amid rumours of a rift between the brothers and their partners.
Tabloids and royal commentators have taken their guess at what motivated the edits, some saying it may be a snub towards Kate and William who included their names in their children's birth certificates.
While others say it may be a way for the couple to align themselves with Harry's mum Princess Diana who always used "Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales".
Royal reporter Omid Scobie released a statement from a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan on Monday to Twitter.
In the statement, the spokesperson says the change of names in 2019 was "dictated by the palace".
"This was not requested by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex nor by the Duke of Sussex," the statement added before blasting UK tabloids for their commentary.
"To see this UK tabloid and their carnival of so-called 'experts' chose to deceptively whip this into a calculated family 'snub' and suggest that she would oddly want to be nameless on her child's birth certificate, or any other legal document would be laughable were it not offensive."
Royal expert Ingrid Seward told The Sun the removal of Meghan's first name on the document was "remarkable".
"Perhaps this is another sign they were desperate to do something different to the Cambridges."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stood down from royal duties in March 2020 and moved to Los Angeles where they currently live. Their son Archie turns two in May and is seventh in line for the throne.
