20 February 2024 , 09:33
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked royal fans when they moved on from a 64-year-old royal tradition and gave their children a brand new surname.
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet had been known as Mountbatten-Windsor, a name which was decreed by the Privy Counsel in 1960 and given to male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. However, the youngsters have now been given the surname Sussex.
Royal expert Ingrid Seward has suggested the late Duke of Edinburgh wouldn't have been pleased with Meghan and Harry's decision after fighting for the Mountbatten-Windsor name. Ingrid said the move "will only serve to further distance the prince and his children from the Royal Family".
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Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are no longer Mountbatten-Windsors
Prince Philip wouldn't have approved (Getty Images)Philip was said to be "wounded" when he found out that his children would not bear his surname, Mountbatten, when his wife Princess Elizabeth became Queen in 1952. Instead, they were to be Windsors, after the Queen's family.
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Winston Churchill and the Queen's private secretary Tommy Lascelles came up with a solution to name the male descendants Mountbatten-Windsor. Writing in the Daily Mail, Ingrid said: "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."
She suggested the name drama would "make Philip turn in his grave". Archie and Lilibet's new surname was announced on Meghan and Harry's brand new website.
The Sussexes want to share the same surname (PA)A source told The Times: "The reality behind the new site is very simple — it's a hub for the work the Sussexes do and it reflects the fact the family have, since the King's coronation, the same surname for the first time. That's a big deal for any family. It represents their unification and it’s a proud moment."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex faced a backlash when they launched their new platform, which is believed to have "gone down terribly badly at Buckingham Palace". Speaking to Talk TV, royal commentator Michael Cole said: "We're not quite sure how they intend to use this new website but it will be watched very very closely because any attempt to use it for commercial purposes will be frowned upon certainly in this country.
"It's certainly just not on and it's not what you do." He added: "If they want to build bridges, this is possibly the worst possible way they could do it, and it won’t go down well."