Topics: Meghan Markle, Celebrity, Royal Family, Netflix, TV And Film, Parenting, Prince Harry
People have been left with quite the confusion after finding out that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the decision to change their two children's names.
Now, the 43-year-old Duchess of Sussex, who shares Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, with Prince Harry, has recently opened up about the personal significance of the family-of-four all having the same surname and what it means to her.
During an interview with PEOPLE, the Suits veteran explained that the Sussex surname - which was bestowed upon her and Harry by the late Queen Elizabeth II on their wedding day back in 2018 - 'means a lot' to her and her hubby.
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"It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognised how meaningful that would be to me until we had children," Meghan shared. "I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me."
She added that the Sussex name is 'part of our love story'.
And, in one episode of her new Netflix lifestyle series, Meghan explained to her friend Mindy Kaling more about her choice of surname.
Meghan pointed out that she found it 'funny' that Mindy called her 'Meghan Markle'.
"It's so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know I'm Sussex now," she explained. "You have kids and you go 'No, 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'."
In response, Mindy said: "Well, now I know and I love it."
Despite the touching reason behind the move, some people clearly seem totally up in arms about the whole situation given that Meghan and Harry stepped back from their royal roles in the UK to start a new life in the US back in 2020.
After leaving the monarchy, the Queen reportedly asked the pair to refrain from using the brand name 'Sussex Royal' which was previously their Instagram handle and the name of their website.
The pair later chose to use 'Archewell' for their website and production company.
Archie and Lilibet's surnames, which were originally Mountbatten-Windsor, changed when King Charles III took the throne meaning the two children moved up in the line of succession and received the new titles of Prince and Princess of Sussex after previously being Master Archie and Miss Lilibet.
It's tradition for British princes and princesses to use their parents' titles as last names.
So, by adopting the Sussex surname, Meghan and Harry - who are the 'Duke and Duchess of Sussex' - are simply following tradition while being able to finally all share the same last name as a family unit.
With Love, Meghan is currently available to stream on Netflix.
