Why Meghan and Harry decided to change their children’s names
Topics: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Royal Family, Prince Archie, Princess Lilibet
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: Toby Melville - Pool/Getty Images
Topics: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Royal Family, Prince Archie, Princess Lilibet
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle first started dating in 2016, before tying the knot a few years later and welcoming their two children - Archie, now six, and Lilibet, three.
Over nearly a decade, the pair have been through a lot, ultimately deciding to step away from being working royals in 2020, before moving to California where they now reside.
Harry and Meghan have since opened up about their lives as senior royals, with a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 making a number of claims about the turmoil they endured.
They then went on to release Netflix's documentary Harry & Meghan in 2022, which opened up about their lives in the family further.
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Fast-forward to 2025 and the family seem to be thriving in the US, with Meghan having recently released her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan and her lifestyle brand, As Ever.
Last month, she also launched her own podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, where she also discusses life with Harry and the kids.
Recently, people have noticed that the family go by a different surname.
According to Vogue, when Archie and Lilibet were christened, Archie was christened as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, while Lilibet was christened Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
Despite this, it seems that the children now use the name 'Sussex' as their surname. It has been reported that the reason for this leads back to the coronation of King Charles on 6 May, 2023.
Archie and Lilibet were moved up in the line of succession following the coronation, and the little ones were bestowed with the new titles of Prince and Princess of Sussex.
Prior to this, they were officially Master Archie and Miss Lilibet.
A lesser-known fact is that the British custom for names of princes and princesses is that they adopt their titles or their parents' titles as surnames.
As an example, at school, both Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William, had the titles of William Wales and Harry Wales to reflect their parents’ status of Prince and Princess of Wales.
Meghan has also recently opened up about her own name in an episode of With Love, Meghan.
"I don't think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack In The Box and loves it," friend Mindy Kaling said in response to an admission Meghan made about eating the takeout food.
The Duchess 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."