Meghan Markle Explains Why She Changed Her Name On Son Archie's Birth Certificate: Report

Meghan Markle has set the record straight about the change in her name on her son Archie's birth certificate.

The Duchess of Sussex's spokesperson released a statement to Page Six Sunday explaining the omission of her first name, Rachel Meghan, from the document. The rep confirmed that it was Buckingham Palace that pushed Markle to remove her given name from Archie's birth papers.

"The change of name on public documents in 2019 was dictated by The Palace, as confirmed by documents from senior Palace officials. This was not requested by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex nor by The Duke of Sussex," the statement read.

Markle made headlines over the weekend after The Sun reported, citing documents it obtained, that the duchess “secretly erased” her first name from Archie's birth certificate in June 2019, almost a month after her son’s birth. The document instead refers to her as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex. Changes were also made to Prince Harry‘s name on the papers so it reads His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex, per the report.

Royal commentators and experts had mixed opinions about the move, with one claiming it may have been part of the Sussexes' "plan" while another described it as an "extraordinary" move.

"Maybe this was an early part of their plan," the Queen's ex-press secretary Dickie Arbiter said.

"It is extraordinary and raises all kinds of questions about what the Sussexes were thinking," commented Lady Colin Campbell on the report.

Royal author and Majesty magazine editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward also found the move to be shocking. "For a royal to change a birth certificate is unprecedented but to remove forenames is remarkable. Perhaps this is another sign they were desperate to do something different to the Cambridges," she said.

Princess Diana went by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales on her sons Princes William and Harry’s birth certificates, Us Weekly noted.

Twitter users also had mixed reactions to the report when it came out Sunday. Some claimed it was a lie orchestrated to target Markle again, while one suggested it was arranged to cover up the criticism Kate Middleton has been receiving for saying parenting during the coronavirus pandemic has been "exhausting." Others felt that it was Markle's publicist's move to get her new coverage.

"MORE LIES from DAILY MIRROR to create hate comments towards Meghan," one wrote.

"It’s always the same pattern Step 1: William or/and Kate Middleton do or say something stupid and get dragged for it Step 2: to divert the attention from the future king or/and his concubine, British Tabloids publish pointless stories to smear Meghan Markle," a second user added.

"Her new publicist is stirring up dust again trying to get her coverage & magazine covers. IF Meghan does skip the UK trip, expect the paparazzi to magically pop out of the hedges & snap a photo of her & Archie. That only seems to happen when Harry's away. She calls them," a third user commented.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry recently blamed the false reports spread by the media for the harassment that he and his wife have received over the years. The Duke of Sussex said he believes they would not receive negative attention if their story was told truthfully.