Before Prince William and Prince Harry got married to Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, respectively, the brothers used a surname that honored their father King Charles III’s former royal title.
The royal family has a history of adopting different surnames.
In fact, even before they were bestowed new titles during their wedding celebrations, Prince William and Prince Harry didn’t use the Mountbatten-Windsor surname. Instead, while serving in the U.K. military in their 20s, they used the last name “Wales” as an ode to their father, King Charles III, who was the Prince of Wales at the time.
Indeed, members of the royal family tend to select surnames based on the official titles of their parents until they are anointed their own title from the monarchy. And there’s photo evidence to prove William and Harry followed suit before tying the knot with their respective wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle.
In a 2009 snap from their time in the service, the brothers can be seen laughing together while wearing their green uniforms, which included undershirts and matching zip-up jackets. And patched on top of each of their ensembles were name tags, with Harry’s reading “Harry Wales” and William’s reading “William Wales.”
Of course, both siblings’ names have gone through changes since then.
In 2011, William earned the title Duke of Cambridge when he married Kate, thus becoming William Cambridge. However, the 42-year-old returned to using the Wales moniker in 2022, when his dad became King and passed his title as Prince of Wales onto William. (Similarly, William and Kate’s kids Prince George, 11, Prince Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, all used the surname Wales starting in 2022.)
As for Harry, he and Meghan became the Duke of Sussex and Duchess of Sussex, respectively, when they got married in 2018. And while their firstborn was christened Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor by the Archbishop of Canterbury the following year, Meghan has since revealed that the pair go by the last name Sussex in order to maintain a sense of unity with their kids, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.
“You have kids and you go, ‘No, I should share my name with my children,’” the 43-year-old explained during the second episode of her Netflix series With Love, Meghan. “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.’”
And that’s not the only reason she plans to keep her title as Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, even after the couple stepped away from royal duties in 2020. After all, the Suits alum said that the name is also an important part of her and Harry’s love story.
“As the kids get older, they’re so excited about, ‘Oh my gosh, Mama and Papa, how did you meet?’” she told People in an interview published March 3. “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.”
To find out the meaning behind more royal family members’ names, keep reading.
Queen Elizabeth II shared her first name with her mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (known as the Queen Mother later in life), and the remaining names of her full born name, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, came from her maternal and paternal grandmothers, respectively.
Moreover, her full title was Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of this Realm and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
Meanwhile, it’s royal protocol that every new royal family member’s name is approved by the reigning monarch. (Elizabeth’s younger sister Princess Margaret was originally intended to be Ann, but their dad King George V wasn’t feeling it.)
King Charles III
The current monarch was born Charles Philip Arthur George and went on to be the longest-serving heir apparent in British history before becoming king at 73.
His first name is one of the royal family’s oldest names, dating back to the 17th century, while Philip is inspired by his father, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Formerly the Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, Charles became the Prince of Wales—a title historically given to the eldest son of the reigning monarch—at the age of 21 in 1958.
Prince William and Kate Middleton
The future king’s full name, William Arthur Philip Louis (born June 21, 1982) is filled with tradition, including Philip as a nod to his grandfather, Arthur, which he shares with Prince Charles, and Louis, which he passed down to his two sons as well.
In the 1992 book Diana: Her Story, it was revealed that Princess Diana actually picked her two sons’ names after vetoing her husband Prince Charles’ picks.
When she was asked, “Who chose [Harry’s] name?,” Diana answered, “I did… chose William and Harry, but Charles did the rest.” She also revealed Charles’ original picks: “He wanted Albert and Arthur, and I said no. Too old!”
After William and Catherine “Kate” Middleton married in 2011, they became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. When his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II died and his father Charles ascended to the throne in 2022, they became the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Incidentally, they also replaced Charles and now Queen Camilla as Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, and Earl and Countess of Chester.
They’ve also had the Scottish titles Earl and Countess of Strathearn since their wedding day and are known as Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland.
Prince George of Wales
George Alexander Louis was Prince George of Cambridge at birth on July 22, 2013, but is now Prince George of Wales, his name shifting accordingly.
Louis was seemingly a nod to Louis Mountbatten, Prince Philip‘s beloved uncle and a mentor to future King Charles, who was killed in an IRA bombing in 1979.
Princess Charlotte of Wales
William and Kate’s daughter’s full name—Charlotte Elizabeth Diana—is filled with poignant tributes to many of her family members.
Charlotte, born May 2, 2015, is also believed to be a nod to her granddad Charles, as well as the middle name of Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton and grandmother. Elizabeth is clearly a reference to Queen Elizabeth, her great-grandmother, while Diana is also another clear tribute, paying respect to William’s late mother.
When her parents became Prince and Princess of Wales, she also went from being a Cambridge to being Princess Charlotte of Wales.
Prince Louis of Wales
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles,” Kensington Palace announced shortly after the birth of William and Kate’s third child on April 23, 2018. “The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge.”
Once again, he too is now Prince Louis of Wales.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Henry Charles Albert David was born Prince Henry of Wales on Sept. 15, 1984, but his parents said they’d be calling him Harry and that’s the name that stuck.
When Harry married California native and Suits alum Meghan Markle in 2018 they became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Prince Archie of Sussex
Meghan and Harry just liked the name Archie, so that’s what they named their firstborn child when he was born on May 6, 2019.
The choice stumped royal experts, with historian Marlene Koenig previously telling E! News, “This is a most unusual choice [of name], but I am not surprised because I have said that they would go out of the box. There are no Archies or Archibald’s in the family. I have said a few times that the parents of non-royals seem to have more leeway, more freedom.” (It is worth noting that Princess Diana has an ancestor named Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll of Scotland.)
Harrison, however, literally means “son of Harry.”
His surname upon arrival was Mountbatten-Windsor, the adopted surname of Prince Philip when he became a British citizen, combined with Windsor, the last name of the queen’s male-line descendants who do not have royal styles and titles.
When his great-grandmother the queen died and grandad Charles became king, as a child of the son of the reigning monarch he became Prince Archie of Sussex.
Princess Lilibet of Sussex
Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born to Meghan and Harry on June 4, 2021.
“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet,” read a statement from the family. “Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”
Akin to her brother, she became Princess Lilibet of Sussex when her grandfather Charles became king.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s third child, Prince Andrew, became the Duke of York when he married Sarah Ferguson (post-divorce, they’re still Duke and Duchess of York), and they welcomed their first child in 1988, Beatrice Elizabeth Mary.
Beatrice, which means “she who brings happiness,” was the name of Queen Victoria‘s fifth daughter. It was far from the odds-makers’ radar when they were predicting the name of the queen’s fifth grandchild. Elizabeth, of course, is an homage to the queen, whose own grandmother was Mary of Teck.)
As a child of the son of the reigning monarch, Beatrice was given an HRH (Her Royal Highness) title and became a princess.
The queen didn’t give her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi a title when they wed in 2020, so their daughters Sienna and Athena are Mapelli Mozzis.
Andrew and Sarah returned to the Victorian era to name their second daughter, Eugenie Victoria Helena.
Princess Victoria Eugenie was a daughter of the aforementioned Princess Beatrice, Victoria’s ninth and final child.
When Eugenie wed Jack Brooksbank in 2018, the queen opted not to give him an official title, so he remains a mister and their sons August and Earnest are Brooksbanks.
Source: www.eonline.com