Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their first child, Prince Archie, in May 2019 - less than a year later they had quit their roles as senior working members of the royal family

Prince Harry and Meghan quietly erased the Duchess of Sussex's first names from son Archie’s birth certificate in an unprecedented move.

Little Archie was born on May 6, 2019, and his birth was registered 11 days later before an amendment was made on June 5. The tot's birth papers no longer show 'Rachel Meghan' as his mum and instead read 'Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex'. The unusual change occurred as rumours were growing of a rift between Harry, brother William and their partners, The Sun reports.

They claim the move is a snub to the Prince and Princess of Wales as all three of their children have Kate's names on their birth certificates. It may also be viewed as Harry placing Meghan at equals with his mum Princess Diana who always used “Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales”.

Days after the changes were made, Harry and Meghan walked away from the Fab Four’s joint charity and had quit the Royal family within months. The caustic split from the royals was dubbed 'Megxit' by commentators. Harry and Meghan have since moved to North America and welcomed their second child, Lilibet

Lady Colin Campbell, who discovered the amendment, said: “It is extraordinary and raises all kinds of questions about what the Sussexes were thinking.” Dickie Arbiter, the Queen’s ex-press secretary, said the changes could be "an early part of their plan.” Royal expert Ingrid Seward added: “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.”

The couple's relationship with the royal family shows no sign of growing closer following the release of Harry's memoir, Spare, last year, which detailed his account of his relationship with senior members of the Firm, including his father, King Charles, and brother, Prince William. The couple's two children are now Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet following the late Queen's death.