The release of With Love, Meghan provided viewers with plenty of insights into Meghan Markle's daily life, and fans of the actress-turned-Duchess have had a field day. The show— which reached number six on Netflix’s top ten— showcased Meghan’s flair for party-planning and hosting, as well as introduced some of her celebrity pals like Vicky Tsai and Daniel Martin.
One major takeaway from the show was Meghan’s name change. She revealed to pal Mindy Kaling that she now uses the surname Sussex, as do her husband and children— Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.
She told Kaling, ‘It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now.'
‘I share my name with my children. I didn’t know how meaningful that would be to me, but it just means so much to go, “This is our family name, our little family name.”’
A few days later, in a promo for Meghan’s guest appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Drew referred to the Duchess as Meghan Sussex.
This has led to a lot of confusion from fans about the real surname of the couple, particularly Harry's, and it turns out that there's quite a bit more to the story than we first thought.
When they tied the knot in 2018, Prince Harry and Meghan were given the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. Although many fans assumed that Harry had kept some form of the surname Mountbatten-Windsor and Meghan had presumably kept Markle, it is not uncommon for royals to use their title as a family name.
What is Prince Harry's surname?
When Harry was born, his birth certificate read, 'Henry Charles Albert David', with no official surname listed. Royals have little use for surnames, although they have adopted Windsor since 1917 and use it when needed. From 1960 onwards, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip decided that their direct descendants would use Mountbatten-Windsor, incorporating Philip's last name. This is the name that Archie and Lilibet were born with, although Meghan has now implied that they’ve changed it— either legally or unofficially— to Sussex.
So, does Prince Harry go by Harry Sussex?
During their school days, both Harry and William would have gone by Harry Wales and William Wales, as their father’s then-title was Prince of Wales. This continued when the pair completed their military service in the U.K. army, with Harry training as a pilot and gunner and William serving as a regimental officer. In a 2009 picture from their time in the service, the brothers can be seen wearing their uniforms, with a visible patch reading ‘Harry Wales’ and William's reading ‘William Wales.’
Now then, as the Duke of Sussex, Harry would certainly be known as Harry Sussex.
Usually, members of the royal family tended to honour their parents’ titles by adopting them as surnames until they received their own, a tradition that has clearly been embraced by Harry and his family in California.
Sarah O'Byrne is a News and Entertainment writer for Grazia, heat, Closer, Yours, Bella and Crime Monthly.