Michael M. Santiago/Getty; Antony Jones/UK Press via Getty; David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Prince Harry reportedly asked his uncle Charles Spencer for advice about potentially changing his family's last name to Spencer The British royal family's historic surname of Mountbatten-Windsor is the last name on the birth certificates of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet According toThe Mail on Sunday, the 9th Earl Spencer advised Harry against the name change Prince Harryreportedly spoke with his uncleCharles Spencerabout the idea of takingPrincess Diana's surname for his family. The Duke of Sussex, 40, "actively explored ways to assume his mother's last name — a move that would have involved ditching Mountbatten-Windsor, used by his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet,"The Mail on Sundayreported. Harry allegedly discussed the idea of the name change with his uncle, the 9th Earl Spencer, who is the younger brother of his late mother, Princess Diana, during a previous visit to the U.K., but was told that the legal challenges would be too great. "They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step," a friend of Prince Harry's was quoted as saying by theMail on Sunday. Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. PEOPLE has also reached out to Charles Spencer for comment. Prince Harry and his wifeMeghan Markleshare childrenPrince Archie, 6, andPrincess Lilibet, who turns 4 on June 4, andboth children's birth certificates list their last names as Mountbatten-Windsor. However, the family now uses Sussex as their last name, similarly to how Harry was known as "Harry Wales" when he was growing up and his mother and father were the Prince and Princess of Wales. In anexclusive interviewwith PEOPLE, Meghan spoke about how the Sussex name took on an even deeper meaning after she and Prince Harry had children. "It's our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn't recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children," the Duchess of Sussex says. "I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me." Meghan and Harry's Sussex last name sparked conversation following the premiere of her lifestyle series With Love, Meghan on Netflix in March,when the Duchess of Sussex corrected her friend Mindy Kaling for calling her by her maiden name, Markle. Jeff J Mitchell - WPA Pool/Getty Mountbatten-Windsor is the British royal family's official surname used by some descendants of the lateQueen ElizabethandPrince Philip, and the outlet speculated that dropping the surname would have been a slight toKing Charles, "who cherishes the Mountbatten name just as his father did." "The distance between the Duke of Sussex and his father, the King, shows no sign of narrowing amid a rift that first surfaced when Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020. A key point of tension remains the state-funded security the couple lost at the time — a factor Prince Harry recently highlighted in aBBC interview, saying he "can't see a world" where he would bring his wife and children back to the U.K. without that vital protection. The Mountbatten name comes from the late Prince Philip's side of the family and was the surname the Greek prince adopted when he became a British citizen in 1947 and joined the Royal Navy, as explained by theroyal family's official website. Windsor, meanwhile, was adopted by King George V as the British royal surname in 1917. In 1960, the Queen and Philip determined that Mountbatten-Windsor would be the surname for their direct descendants, when required. Kevin Mazur/Getty; Archewell While members of the British royal family don't typically use last names as most people do, it's an informal tradition within the family for children to take their parents' titles as the basis for their surnames, when necessary. Prince Harry andPrince Williamwere known as "Harry Wales" and "William Wales" while enrolled at schools and enlisted in the military in a nod to the Prince of Wales title used by their father, King Charles, at the time. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! As grandchildren of the monarch, Prince Harry and Meghan's children wereafforded the titles of prince and princesswhen King Charles acceded in September 2022. Soon after, their nameswere updatedon the royal family website to "Prince Archie of Sussex" and "Princess Lilibet of Sussex" in the official line of succession to the throne. Meghan and Harry were granted the royal titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex by Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth on their May 2018 wedding day. Last year,PEOPLE confirmed that Harry and Meghan adopted their Sussex titles as the last namefor Archie and Lilibet, continuing the tradition. Read the original article onPeople
