Royal Shocker: Prince Harry Considered Surname Change to Spencer

Prince Harry reportedly considered changing his and wife Meghan’s family surname, taking “Spencer” from his late mother Princess Diana.

According to U.K. newspaper The Mail on Sunday, Prince Harry spoke with his uncle, Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother, about the idea. “They had a very amicable conversation. And Spencer advised him against taking such a step,” a friend of Prince Harry’s was quoted in the article.

Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer, reportedly told Prince Harry that the legal challenges in attempting such a step would be insurmountable.

The move would have meant abandoning Mountbatten-Windsor, which is the official surname of the British Royal family. It’s also the name on not only Prince Harry’s birth certificate, but also on his children Prince Archie’s and Princess Lilibet’s.

Prince Harry and Wife Meghan Use the Surname Sussex

No matter what it says on birth certificates, Prince Harry and Meghan don’t use the Mountbatten-Windsor surname.

They actually use the last name Sussex. The late Queen Elizabeth bestowed the titles “Duke and Duchess of Sussex” on them when they got married.

This follows tradition. Prince Harry grew up as “Harry Wales” at school and in the military when his parents, then Prince Charles and Princess Diana, held the titles Prince and Princess of Wales.

Meghan Markle Says ‘Don’t Call Me Markle’

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan share children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, who turns 4 on Wednesday, June 4.

And while Meghan is routinely referred to still as “Meghan Markle” in the media, she made it clear to actress Mindy Kaling in an episode of the first season her lifestyle show “With Love, Meghan,” that that’s not her name any more.

In the episode, the pair are talking about growing up eating fast food. Then Kaling says, “People wouldn’t believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box.”

Meghan replies, “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now.”

“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.”

The Duchess told People, “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me. I think as the kids get older, they’re so excited about, ‘Oh my gosh, Mama and Papa, how did you meet?’ 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.”

The post Royal Shocker: Prince Harry Considered Surname Change to Spencer appeared first on EntertainmentNow.