The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's bid to trademark the Sussex Royal brand has been blocked after a legal complaint by an Australian doctor.
Prince Harry and Meghan's plans to transform their title into a multi-billion pound global brand were thrown into doubt by the complaint, filed on Tuesday.
The couple first applied to the Intellectual Property Office in June 2019 for the trademark, leading to a mandatory "opposition period" for members of the public to raise objections.
It was due to end on February 20, but now Benjamin Worcester, an independent doctor from Melbourne, has sent a "notice of threatened opposition", IPO documents show, leading to the period being extended until March 20.
It is not known why the doctor filed the notice of opposition, but the move could see the Sussexes forced into a legal battle over the trademark.
If Dr Worcester makes a formal complaint the delay will be extended.
Harry and Meghan want the brand rights for hundreds of products including children's books, calendars, greeting cards, clothing, footwear, scholarships and social care and education services.
They already have a £34 million personal fortune to kickstart their new life in Canada after they resigned as senior royals, but are eyeing giant business and TV deals to amass more wealth.
It comes after it emerged yesterday that the Sussexes' official wedding souvenirs were no longer available from the Royal Collection's official online shop.
A commemorative range, including a fine bone china coffee mug, a tankard and a plate, were no longer available on royalcollectionshop.co.uk.
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What it's like to get Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's personal backing
Since their wedding in May 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have approached a number of royal duties in an alternative way to the rest of Royal Family. Including how they support charities and use their social media platforms. Over the past eight months, Meghan and Harry have chosen between 9 and 12 charities a month to champion on Instagram. The innovative idea, which is unlike anything other members of the Royal Family have previously done, emerged during a meeting that the new parents were a part of. "One of the ideas that came up in a brainstorm that both Harry and Meghan were involved in was to follow a different group of charities every month, giving small grassroots-led initiatives a platform to really promote themselves to the world and be noticed by the world," royal reporter Omid Scobie tells Yahoo UK. "Harry and Meghan were so hands on in the beginning of the Sussex Royal Instagram account. They looked at a different colour palette to chose the exact royal blue for their banner and their logo. It was Meghan's idea to have white borders on all of their photos. She even knew about Instagram algorithms," he adds. Two of the charities the couple followed have been Sal's Shoes, run by CJ Bowry from Surrey, and 52 Lives, run by Jaime Thurston from Berkshire. Neither of the founders expected the royal follow and have praised Meghan and Harry for "showing us a huge hand of support". They didn't get an email, or letter and haven't met either the Duke or Duchess but tell Yahoo UK the simple action of a follow on Instagram has left to hundreds of new social media followers and lots more international awareness. Sal's Shoes is a small charity that collects new or used shoes to give to children who can't afford to buy their own. "I started Sal Shoes with one bag full of my younger son's outgrown but not outworn shoes," says Bowry. "Fast-forward six years and we've now found new feet for over a million and a half pairs of shoes in over 44 countries around the world." 52 Lives changes someone's life every week of the year. "We spread kindness," says Thurston. "It can be anything from providing funds so somebody can buy a wheelchair - it's literally whatever the person needs. A lot of the people we help are going through really difficult times and some are feeling quite isolated."
Ewan Somerville,Evening Standard 3 hours ago 
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