Prince Harry once reportedly thought about adopting his late mother Princess Diana’s maiden name, Spencer, as his surname.
However, he was advised against the idea by his maternal uncle, Charles Spencer.
As reported by The Mail on Sunday, the Duke of Sussex, 40, had considered replacing the Mountbatten-Windsor surname — the one currently used by his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet — with his mother’s family name.
During a rare trip to the UK, Harry discussed the matter with Diana’s brother, the 9th Earl Spencer. While the conversation was said to be friendly, Earl Spencer advised Harry not to proceed due to the potential legal complications.
A source told the outlet, “They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step.”
Neither Harry’s nor Earl Spencer’s representatives commented publicly on the matter.
Archie, 6, and Lilibet, who just turned 4 on June 4, are officially listed as Mountbatten-Windsor on their birth records.
However, the family now generally uses “Sussex” as their informal surname — continuing a royal practice. For example, Harry was known as “Harry Wales” during his youth, a nod to his father’s title, Prince of Wales.
In an earlier interview with PEOPLE, Meghan spoke about the emotional significance of sharing the Sussex name with her family.
“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,” she said. “I love that Archie, Lili, H, and I all share that. It means a lot.”
The topic of surnames resurfaced in March during Meghan’s Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, when she gently corrected friend Mindy Kaling for referring to her as “Markle” instead of “Sussex.”
Mountbatten-Windsor is the official surname used for descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The name combines “Windsor,” adopted in 1917 by King George V, with “Mountbatten,” which Prince Philip chose when he became a British citizen in 1947.
In 1960, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip agreed that this would be the surname for their direct descendants who don’t hold royal titles.
Choosing to abandon this name could have been perceived as a slight toward King Charles III, who reportedly values the Mountbatten name, just as his father did. Tensions between Harry and King Charles have remained strained since Harry and Meghan stepped back from their royal duties in 2020.
One ongoing point of contention is the loss of taxpayer-funded security for the Sussex family.
In a past interview with the BBC, Harry emphasized his concerns, saying he “can’t see a world” where he would feel safe bringing his children to the UK without adequate protection.
Though royal family members rarely use surnames in everyday life, their children often adopt a version of their parents’ titles for school or military purposes. For instance, both Harry and his brother William used “Wales” as their last name while growing up.
After King Charles ascended the throne in September 2022, Archie and Lilibet automatically became prince and princess under longstanding royal rules.
Their titles were updated on the royal family’s website to reflect “Prince Archie of Sussex” and “Princess Lilibet of Sussex.”
The titles “Duke and Duchess of Sussex” were originally granted to Harry and Meghan by Queen Elizabeth in May 2018, on the day of their wedding.
In keeping with royal tradition, last year, PEOPLE confirmed that the couple had officially chosen “Sussex” as the surname for their children.
