Prince Harry, Meghan Nearly Changed Kids' Last Name to Diana's Surname Spencer

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry nearly changed their family name to Spencer -- the maiden name of his late mother, Princess Diana -- out of "sheer exasperation" from ongoing passport issues for their kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex even went as far as asking Harry's uncle, Earl Spencer, for his blessing, according to a new report from The Guardian.

Earl was reportedly "enthusiastic and supportive" of the potential name change, though the parents of two ultimately did not make the move because they finally obtained UK passports for their little ones after about 6 months of waiting.

According to a source for The Guardian, the passport obstacles stemmed directly from King Charles not wanting his grandchildren to use their HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles because "the British passports, once created, would be the first and perhaps the only legal proof of their name."

He also allegedly took issue with their use of the "Sussex" name -- which Meghan and Harry have been using publicly for years. Archie and Lilibet previously used the Mountbatten-Windsor surname on their US and British passports, according to the report.

The kids' passports had been delayed for months reportedly due to ongoing "technical issues" -- but were issued at the 6-month point in the process after Meghan and Harry's attorneys reportedly sent a letter threatening to pursue a data subject access request ... which could have uncovered internal deliberations regarding the passports.