An insider from Buckingham Palace has responded to Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, after she released an official statement saying that it was the Palace and not her nor Prince Harry, who asked to change her name in her son, Archie Harrison's birth certificate.
Speaking anonymously via Daily Mail, the Palace source said that it was, in fact, the people from Meghan's office who carried out the name change request. Apparently, they did this to ensure consistency with the other legal documents tied to the Duchess of Sussex.
Another insider also told The Telegraph that the way Meghan's statement was worded, saying that the Palace "dictated" the name change, was "unfortunate." The source said that there isn't a strict protocol in place for these scenarios as there are different options for how a civil document, such as a birth certificate, can be filled out. The insider suggested that this matter should not be a big deal.
However, Meghan's statement was in response to those who were making a big deal out of a clerical error. They alleged that she had taken out her real name, Rachel Meghan, on her son's birth certificate, which was originally released in May 17, 2019. The amended document now reads, "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex," under the section of Mother.
The Sun first reported the change after royal author Lady Colin Campbell spotted the amendment. Campbell, a longtime critic of Meghan, said that the move was "extraordinary" and raises many questions about the couple's real plans.
Royal commentator Ingrid Seward said that this seemed like a desperate attempt for the Sussexes to do things differently than the Cambridges, Prince William and Kate Middleton. Seward noted that the birth certificates of Kate's three children had her real name, Catherine Elizabeth, on the document. The royal expert was suggesting that this name change was a calculated snub against Kate.
Meghan's spokesperson also took a shot at the royal expert and said that such an implication of a "snub" was laughable, if not offensive. The spokesperson also asked the critics of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to focus on other more important matters in the world than this trivial issue.
Officially, Buckingham Palace said that this was a clerical error, per royal correspondent Rebecca English. She also noted that this story, while trivial, earned international coverage because it highlighted the "fractious relationship" of Harry and Meghan with Buckingham Palace.
