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Meghan Markle already has a strained relationship with the royal family, but new remarks she made about being forced to change her name on her son Archie’s birth certificate have raised eyebrows at Buckingham Palace. Markle recently claimed that while her real name, Rachel Meghan Markle, initially appeared in full on her son’s birth certificate, she was strong-armed by the royal family to remove her given name so that it now read, “Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.”
According to Markle, while her full name was initially written on her son’s birth certificate, it was dictated by the palace that her royal title should replace it, also referring to Prince Harry as “His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex.”
After news broke of the changes, Sussex reps confirmed that the changes were made by the palace. However, sources close to the royal family said otherwise. According to Page Six, a source revealed, “This is totally baffling. The Palace did not dictate anything, this amendment was made by staff within their former office at Kensington Palace and higher-ups at Buckingham Palace were always kept in the loop.”
A second source doubled down against the claims, saying, “The birth certificate was changed by the former Office of The Duke and Duchess to ensure consistency in the name and title of The Duchess of Sussex with other private documents.”
While this may all seem very shady, Vanity Fair simplifies the implications, writing, “Rachel Meghan” isn’t a part of her official title, and Debrett’s etiquette guide says she should be addressed as “Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.” So in that case, removing “Rachel Meghan” was more akin to fixing a grammatical mistake, not necessarily to make a point.” So there you have it. This was not another snub from The Palace, but rather the amendment of an error. Not everything needs to be drama!
