Exclusive: Real reason Meghan Markle and Prince Harry changed their children’s surnames just two years ago…..See More

The Duchess of Sussex spoke about her family’s shared name on her Netflix show

The Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix show launched on Tuesday, and during episode two of the eight-part series, talk turned to Meghan’s surname.

When The Office star Mindy Kaling referred to the Duchess by her maiden name, Meghan corrected her and spoke with pride about being Sussex: “You keep saying, Meghan Markle, you know, I’m Sussex now.

You have kids, and you go, ‘Now I share my name with my children’ … I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to go ‘This is our family name, our little family name’.”

When Prince Harry and Meghan’s son, Prince Archie, was born in May 2019, he was named as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor on his birth certificate.

But changes within the line of succession since his birth have meant a few changes.

The Sussex title was given to Prince Harry on the morning of his wedding by his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in May 2018.

When Archie was born, Buckingham Palace announced that the royal tot had not been issued with a title and would be known as Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

The name Mountbatten-Windsor applies to male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II without royal styles and titles – hence why the Duke of Edinburgh’s daughter, Lady Louise, uses it as her surname.

While Harry and Meghan stopped using their HRH styles when they stepped away from the monarchy in 2020, they cannot lose their Sussex titles, unless this is actioned through legislation.

When Charles became King in 2022, it meant that Archie and Lilibet became the children of a son of a sovereign, and were entitled to use their Prince and Princess titles – as set out by King George V in 1917.