Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have 'discussed' swapping their Windsor surname for Princess Diana's last name instead, a royal insider has claimed.
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have 'discussed' the idea of dropping the 'Windsor' name and going by 'Spencer' instead, a royal insider has claimed.
- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly hoping to associate themselves with the late Princess Diana, who hails from the aristocratic Spencer family.
- In other royal news, the surprising royal who's never attended Royal Ascot - and we're hoping this will change soon!
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have "discussed" changing their Windsor surname to that of the late Princess Diana, a royal insider has claimed.
The Princess of Wales was famously a member of the aristocratic Spencer family, going by Lady Diana Spencer before her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981. She subsequently joined the House of Windsor, which has been the reigning royal house of the United Kingdom since 1917. Diana's two children, Prince William and Prince Harry, were therefore born into this regally named family.
It's now understood that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who withdrew as senior royals in January 2020, wish to move away from 'Windsor' in a bid to 'recast themselves as Harry and Meghan Spencer'.
Royal author Tom Bower has claimed that the former Suits star was the first to propose the idea as part of the couple's "rebranding."
"Meghan decided her real object in life was to be Diana," he told GB News. "That has always been her passion, that has also been Harry’s passion and Meghan went to the extent of suggesting that they should drop the name Windsor and take the surname Spencer. So she’d be Meghan Spencer, the new Diana."
Bower also told host Dan Wooten that Meghan and Harry have "discussed" the matter, which "isn't something they've plucked out of the minds", with other people.
"He’d take his mother’s name too," the former BBC journalist said. "It's all about the break-off. They’d also give up the Sussex title because instead, you’ve got the new incarnation of Diana."
While Harry and Meghan don't technically go by Windsor, the regal name has been bestowed on their two children. Their first child was born Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, while their second is named Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
The reason Harry and Meghan don't go by it is explained on the Royal Family's official website, which reads:
"The Queen's descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor."
For those of you who might not know, Mountbatten is the last name of the late Prince Philip's maternal grandparents.
