Prince Harry Almost Changed His Name To Distance Himself Even More From The Royals

Everyone knows Prince Harry’s got some big family drama, so much so that he moved to the other side of the world just to get away from his dad and brother. But apparently, the issues are so bad that at one point, Harry didn’t even want to share the same name as them. That’s right, in the ultimate act of rebellion, Harry wanted to completely reject his royal last name of Mountbatten-Windsor in 2024.

This isn’t the only recent news about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s family name. In an episode of Meghan’s Netflix series With Love, Meghan, she very pointedly made sure Mindy Kaling knew her last name isn’t actually Markle anymore. “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now,” she told Mindy. “You have kids, and you go, ‘No, I share my name with my children,'” Meghan continued. “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. I think that will come with time as they get older, but for right now, a huge part of our love story is that we share the name Sussex.”

Harry, Meghan, and their two kids, Archie and Lilibet, all share the last name Sussex, which seems to be a big deal. So then, why did Harry almost change his last name? Here’s all the drama explained.

Prince Harry Almost Changed His Last Name

Image Credit: Getty

So even though Meghan is really attached to the last name Sussex, it isn’t technically the family’s last name. Harry’s legal last name and the last name on Archie and Lilibet’s birth certificate is Mountbatten-Windsor. But Meghan didn’t come up with Sussex out of nowhere. Harry and Meghan’s royal titles are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. When Harry was a kid, and his parents were the Prince and Princess of Wales, he did go by Harry Wales, so there’s totally a precedent for using a royal title for a last name.

But still, Harry and his family’s actual last name is Mountbatten-Windsor, a name that was passed down from his dad, King Charles. ICYMI, Harry, and Charles are not on such great terms. So last year, Harry reportedly talked to his uncle, Charles Spencer, about using the last name Spencer, which belongs to his late mother, Princess Diana.

But, Harry’s Uncle Charles advised him against the name change, mostly saying it would cause even more issues with the Royals. It’s hard to imagine there being even more drama there, but I guess Harry renouncing his dad’s last name might do it. At least for now, we can safely assume the California branch of the Royal family will keep going by Sussex.