has left Palace staff "utterly bewildered" after a source close to the duke revealed why he wanted his children to keep their HRH titles. In a recent story about his children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's passports, said that they understood there was one specific reason why Harry, 40, wanted his young children to remain HRH, even though he himself quit senior royal life alongside his wife Meghan Markle, 43, five years ago.

The reason given was that the Duke of Sussex wanted his children to decide when they are old enough whether they want to be working royals, according to a source. The news outlet wrote last week it understood "that Prince Harry wants to keep the HRH titles for his children so that when they grow older they can decide for themselves whether they want to become working royals, or stay out of public life." Royal expert Richard Eden has since said that especially as Harry and Meghan have been very critical of royal life since leaving the UK and their royal positions in 2020.

Eden said a royal source told him: "I find this very hard to understand.

"Harry and Meghan apparently found official duties and life within the Royal Family unbearable, yet they want this for their children. It doesn't make sense."

It was previously reported that the couple originally wanted their children to have HRH titles as they since the children's grandfather King Charles acceded to the throne, and should be up to them whether they use it as adults or not.

This is despite the fact that since stepping back from royal life in 2020, Harry and Meghan have not been able to use their HRH styles as they no longer represent the British Royal Family.

Instead, Harry and Meghan often refer to themselves using their royal titles the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - titles bestowed on them by Queen Elizabeth II after their 2018 wedding.

The duchess recently revealed that the Sussex name - which she is now believed to use as a surname - especially because she shares the name with her children Archie, six, and Lilibet, four.

"It's our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn't recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children.

"I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me."