Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have taken the untraditional step of giving their two children the surname Sussex, breaking from the Mountbatten-Windsor name established decades ago for descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to abandon the royal family surname for their son Archie, 4, and daughter Lilibet, 2, marks a symbolic break from the monarchy and represents a further distancing, according to royal experts. The move is seen as disregarding the wishes of Prince Harry's late grandfather Philip, who fought for the surname's use beginning in 1960.
"How sad, therefore, that only three generations later, Harry should so blatantly disregard his grandfather's wishes and effectively abandon the family name for which Philip had fought," royal biographer Ingrid Seward wrote in the Daily Mail. "This will only serve to further distance the prince and his children from the Royal Family."
The Mountbatten-Windsor name combined the Queen's Windsor family surname and Philip's due to his displeasure that royal children took only their mother's name after Elizabeth's ascension in 1952. Winston Churchill and a royal secretary suggested the hybrid surname as a compromise for their male descendants.
Prince Philip was said to be "wounded" that his own surname wouldn't be used before the matter was resolved. "Make Philip turn in his grave - that's what Harry's done by removing the Mountbatten element of the children's names," Ms. Seward said.
The name change accompanied the launch of Prince Harry and Meghan's newly redesigned website, which a source described to The Times as "a hub for the work the Sussexes do." The source added: "It represents their unification and it's a proud moment."
However, some royal commentators criticized the website launch itself, saying it could commercialize the couple's royal brand and further complicate tensions with the palace. "It won't go down well...if they want to build bridges, this is possibly the worst possible way they could do it," said royal expert Michael Cole.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have publicly aired grievances about their treatment by the royal family since stepping back from official duties in 2020. Prince Harry has accused the institution of "unconscious bias" and revealed a rift with his father King Charles III in his memoir "Spare."
Their children have had limited time with the monarch due to the Sussexes living in California, adding to already "huge obstacles" for Charles forming a bond, according to author Tom Bower.
"No one in the family now trusts the couple - any time the Sussexes and their children spend with Charles is risky for the royal family," Bower told The Mirror. "Once you have washed the family dirty linen in public no one is going to trust you not to do it again."
By using Sussex as a surname, the children share a moniker separately established when the Duke received his royal titles from his grandmother upon marrying in 2018. The decision symbolizes the family's independence from Buckingham Palace, though it breaks an over 60-year tradition born of Prince Philip's insistence.
As Prince Harry and Meghan continue to forge their own path after exiting as working royals, the name change underscores the growing divide between them and Harry's family members still within the monarchy. The abandonment of a surname so specifically requested by the late Duke of Edinburgh delivers another very public split from royal custom.
