Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Considered Giving Their Kids Princess Diana’s Surname — Find Out Why

Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex almost shared a surname with their late grandmother, Princess Diana.

According to a story posted by The Guardian on Wednesday, June 4, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle considered changing their family name to Spencer, Lady Di’s surname, while dealing with various issues preventing them from getting passports for their children.

One source told the outlet that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex believed ongoing delays were attributed to the applications, which included the surname Sussex — the name the family of four had gone by publicly — as well as Archie and Lilibet’s HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles.

 

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According to The Guardian, Harry, 40, reportedly wanted to keep his children’s titles intact so that they could decide “for themselves whether they want to become working royals, or stay out of public life” in the future. However, a source explained that King Charles “hadn’t wanted Archie and Lili to carry the titles, most of all the HRH.” (Harry announced he and Meghan, 43, would be stepping away as senior members of the royal family in 2020. The family of four now reside full-time in Montecito, California.)

After being met with much resistance, the outlet reported that Harry contacted his Uncle Earl Spencer — the younger brother of Diana, who died following a 1997 car accident at the age of 36 — to discuss using the Spencer surname “out of sheer exasperation.”

Ultimately, the situation was resolved six months after the applications were filed — and, per the outlet, after the Sussexes lawyers got involved.

 

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Meghan raised eyebrows earlier this year when she corrected pal Mindy Kaling on an episode of her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan after the Office alum, 45, referred to her by her birth name. “You keep saying Meghan Markle,” she told Kaling. “You know I’m Sussex now.”

“You have kids and you go, ‘No, I share my name with my children’ and that feels so — I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me — but it just feels so much,” she continued of the name’s significance. “This is our family name, our little family name.”