The pain of separation is only one of several challenges the Sussexes have faced since stepping away from royal duties and relocating to the United States in 2020. As reported by The Guardian, the couple encountered prolonged difficulties in securing British passports for Archie and Lilibet — delays they privately suspected may have involved royal interference.

A source close to the family explained that following the Queen’s death, Harry and Meghan applied for passports with their children’s updated Sussex surname. What should have been a routine process of three weeks reportedly dragged on for nearly six months. The couple was repeatedly given explanations ranging from “technical problems” to system backlogs. An expedited 24-hour appointment was later canceled due to a “systems failure.”

“The reluctance was clear,” one insider claimed, adding that the sticking point was not only the surname but also the use of the titles His and Her Royal Highness. The passports would have been the only legal documents bearing official recognition of those names.

The Name Dispute

Until 2023, Archie held travel documents under the family name Mountbatten-Windsor. But after the Sussexes publicly adopted “Sussex” as their surname, they updated their applications to include both the title and the name. According to a source, King Charles III himself was opposed to Archie and Lilibet carrying the HRH style, making the passport process especially fraught.

After months of delays, the couple’s legal representatives prepared to file a data subject access request, a move that would have forced disclosure of internal government communications surrounding the passport issue. Not long afterward, the documents were issued.

“The whole process was exhausting,” the source added, noting that the prolonged ordeal deepened the couple’s mistrust of the institution they had left behind.

A Mother’s Candid Voice

Meghan Markle’s words in With Love, Meghan carry an understated power. By admitting that being away from her children for nearly three weeks left her “not well,” the Duchess offered an unusually candid glimpse into the private cost of public duty. Her revelation connects the global spectacle of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral with the quiet heartbreak of a mother longing for her children — and underscores how, even years after stepping away from the royal family, the shadows of monarchy continue to shape her life.