As Prince Harry‘s feud with the royal family continues, it seems like we’re finding out more and more details that make it obvious things have been so much worse behind the scenes. According to what a source has told the Daily Mail, the Duke of Sussex almost changed his last name to avoid being associated with the royal family. Instead, Harry wanted to become a Spencer like his late mother, Princess Diana.
According to the insider, Prince Harry was considering dropping the last name “Mountbatten-Windsor” and met with his uncle — Diana’s younger brother — Earl Spencer during one of his trips to the UK to discuss the possibility of legally becoming Harry Spencer. But interestingly enough, his uncle actually told him not to go through with it.
“They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step,” the source said.
He didn’t just warn Harry about the legal hoops he’d have to jump through to make it happen. He also pointed out that making such a move would make it even harder for him to mend fences with his father King Charles and brother Prince William if he wanted to in the future.
It also would have created a domino effect for his kids, Archie and Lilibet, who would have to change their last names, too.
So far, Harry hasn’t spoken out about the report, and neither has his wife, Meghan Markle. However, she has pointed out that her married name is actually Meghan Sussex, pulled from her title as the Duchess of Sussex, very recently on an episode of her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan.
And in a March interview with People, she even pointed out that the Sussex name is “part of our love story” while also tying her to her 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,” Meghan said at the time. “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”
It doesn’t sound like Harry has any plans to change his last name anymore, but if he had decided to become a Spencer, we’d probably still be hearing about it.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
