The reason behind Prince Harry’s surname change has been revealed in his wife’s latest lifestyle series.
During the second episode of With Love, Meghan, her new Netflix show, Meghan Markle shared an interesting detail with actress Mindy Kaling—she no longer goes by Markle.
Instead, she insisted that the star of The Office refer to her by her actual surname: Sussex.
“It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now,” she said.
“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’.”
This revelation quickly sparked debate online, with many questioning whether Sussex is indeed the official family name of Meghan and Prince Harry—and if so, when exactly it was changed.
Prince Harry, born Henry Charles Albert David on September 15, 1984, didn’t have a last name recorded on his birth certificate, following royal tradition. However, as a direct descendant of Queen Elizabeth II, he was technically entitled to use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.
In the royal family, children typically take their parents’ surnames, which are determined by their official titles. Once they receive a title of their own, their last name changes accordingly.
Instead of using the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, Harry was given the last name Wales because his parents, Princess Diana and Prince Charles (now King Charles III), held the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales.
