×
The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.
  • Standard Group Plc HQ Office,
  • The Standard Group Center,Mombasa Road.
  • P.O Box 30080-00100,Nairobi, Kenya.
  • Telephone number: 0203222111, 0719012111
  • Email: [email protected]

Meghan Markle could get new surname when she quits Royal Family next week

Living
 Meghan released an extraordinary statement on Friday in response to the branding ban (Image: Getty Images)

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are in their final week as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, with Megxit in the diary for March 31.

The couple are already in Canada with their son Archie ready to officially begin their new non-royal lives.

Many things will change from April 1, including their names.

At the moment, they use their official HRH titles - which technically means they don't have surnames.

But as the Queen has said they must drop their titles as part of stepping back from their senior duties, they will have to use something else.

In the past, royals have often used their dukedoms as their surnames, with Princes William and Harry using Wales for school and their time in the military and George, Charlotte and Louis taking Cambridge

 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with baby Archie (Image: PA)

Meghan and Harry might keep using Sussex, but there are other options they might opt for instead.

Harry might revert back to using Wales, which he used throughout his Army career, and Meghan may stick to her maiden name Markle - which is what she is still best known for.

Or they could opt for something a little different, which would mean the whole family has the same name.

Their son Archie's surname is Mountbatten-Windsor - the Royal Family's official surname, which is used by all members who don't have a title.

They adopted it back in 1973 as a combination of Prince Philip and the Queen's names.

Before marrying the Queen, Philip was Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

However this wasn't neutral enough so he adopted the name Mountbatten after his grandparents.

 Prince Philip was reportedly very upset that he couldn't pass his name on to the children (Image: Popperfoto/Getty Images)

When the then Princess Elizabeth had the couple's first child Prince Charles, he assumed they would take on his name in the traditional way.

But Prime Minister Winston Churchill didn't agree, and wanted them to continue to use the name Windsor, which was the official Royal Family surname.

The Queen's grandmother Queen Mary agreed, and it caused such a row that the matter was even discussed in Parliament.

In the end the Queen made the decision to go with her family's views, and the name Windsor was used.

But this left Philip extremely upset and he refused to drop the issue, meaning that when the Queen fell pregnant with their third child she went to see the then Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Finally a compromise was met, and on February 8, 1960 - 11 days before Prince Andrew was born - the Queen declared that she had adopted the name Mountbatten-Windsor.?

Have you ever

Related Topics