Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did want the option of giving their son Archie a title, an updated book claims.
When Archie was born in 2019, it was said that the couple did not want to give their child a title and he would simply be known as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
This is different to his cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who all have titles and are styled HRH as they are more senior and higher up the line of succession.
Now in an updated version of the couple's unauthorised biography Finding Freedom, it is claimed that Palace aides were instructed to brief the media that Harry and Meghan did not want a title for Archie - but in reality, they did.
The Daily Mail reports the book as saying the option of a title "would provide their son with a level of security that only comes with a title".
The authors add: "The differential treatment the couple felt had been bestowed upon their son was a major sting to Harry and Meghan."
The issue of a title for young Archie was also brought up in the couple's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March.
Meghan suggested the decision to not give Archie a title may have been to do with race, saying there had been "conversations" about the colour of his skin.
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She said: "They were saying they didn't want him to be a Prince or Princess, which would be different from protocol. This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy where I was going, hold on for a second.
"They said [Archie's not going to get security] because he's not going to be a Prince. Okay, well, he needs to be safe so we're not saying don't make him a Prince or Princess, but if you're saying the title is what's going to affect that protection, we haven't created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder [the family] allowed that to happen which means our son needs to be safe."
She suggested they were given no explanation for why he didn't get a title and asked if she wanted to have one she replied: “If it meant he was going to be safe, of course.”
However, an expert at the time explained the rules surrounding the decision and claimed Meghan and Harry did have the option to give their son a title if they wanted to - the Earl of Dumbarton.
A spokesperson for Debrett’s told the Mirror: “In 1917, King George V ordered that only the grandchildren of the monarch would be entitled to use the style of prince or princess and HRH, the only exception to this order was that the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales would also be entitled to use the style HRH and Prince.
“In accordance with the 1917 order, Archie could now use his father's title of the Earl of Dumbarton and could be referred to as Lord Dumbarton'.
“In 2012, the Queen issued new Letters Patent that the style of HRH and Prince/Princess would be extended to all of Prince William’s children, not just his eldest son.
“Archie's entitlement to use the style of Prince and HRH will come into force when his grandfather Prince Charles becomes king.”
However, it was later reported Meghan and Harry didn't like the idea of Archie using the title Earl of Dumbarton because it began with the word "dumb".
An insider told the Telegraph: "They were worried about how that might look.”
While another said: "It wasn’t just Meghan who pointed out the potential pitfalls, it also bothered Harry."
Finding Freedom, originally published last year and written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, chronicles Harry and Meghan's romance and brief period as members of the monarchy before they broke away to forge a new life for themselves in the US.
It is being re-released next week in paperback version and will include a new epilogue.
The epilogue also sees friends of the couple claim the Queen has not taken "full ownership" of the issues they raised during the Oprah interview.
Following the airing of the chat, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying she was "saddened" by the allegations, but added that "some recollections may vary".
In an extract of the updated book featured in PEOPLE, the authors say the statement "did not go unnoticed".
The updated book is said to have been written with the participation of those closest to the Sussexes - however, the couple were not directly involved.
Last month, publisher of the book HarperCollins said the epilogue in the paperback edition will share : "Behind the scenes of Harry and Meghan's groundbreaking interview with Oprah, details behind the couple's move to California (and) the various philanthropic and business endeavours the Sussexes have been involved with since their move and what's to come with Archewell Productions."
It will also feature: "The continuous challenges the couple face regarding privacy and the British press (and) the heartbreak the couple felt over Prince Philip's death."
