Now that Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are officially Sussexes, no royals are using the Mountbatten-Windsor last name. However, as royal parents’ titles change, they typically change their kids’ last names to match. When William, Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, were children and young adults, they used the last name Wales since King Charles was Prince of Wales at the time. After William married Catherine, Princess of Wales, they were given the titles Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and they used the Cambridge title as a family last name. After Charles ascended the throne when Queen Elizabeth died, William changed his last name from Cambridge back to Wales when he received his dad’s former title. Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis’ last names were then changed to match their parents.
Change seems to be a constant with royal last names. King George V, Elizabeth’s grandfather, originated the Windsor last name after WWI as a PR decision to update the family’s previously German name, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. George then declared this new name could be used by all male or unmarried female descendants of the monarch. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip hyphenated their two last names to create Mountbatten-Windsor as a unique last name for their direct descendants. Philip himself took the Mountbatten surname in conjunction with his 1947 British citizenship. Mountbatten-Windsor will likely be used in the future for William’s grandchildren after he accedes the throne.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
247
