The royals regularly change names or titles, with the Duke of Edinburgh previously being known as the Earl of Wessex, while the Prince and Princess of Wales were previously the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
It can be confusing to keep up with all of this, and it appears that even close friends of the royals can get confused, with Mindy Kaling getting muddled up when it came to Meghan Markle’s title. Things can get even more confusing when you remember that William has had Wales as a surname twice or that Prince Harry was born with an entirely different first name.Prince William’s surname
First he was a Wales, then he was a Cambridge and then he was a Wales again. What? When William was born, he was already an HRH, so he didn’t take the Mountbatten-Windsor surname, instead he assumed the Wales surname when he was enrolled into school.
However, following his marriage to Kate Middleton, the late Queen appointed the couple as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, with the pair taking that as their surname. Following the late Queen’s death, William succeeded his father as the Prince of Wales and assumed the surname once again.
With Prince George already having Wales as his surname, he might end up in a similar situation in the future!
The entire royal family family changing their names
Today, we know the royal family as the House of Windsor, but from 1901 the family was known as the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The royals have German heritage and the name reflected the royal house in which they were originally descended.
However, following the outbreak of World War I, anti-German sentiment began rising in the United Kingdom. As a result, the royals changed their entire name, opting for Windsor, where the historic Windsor Castle is located.
Markle or Sussex?
Meghan Markle raised eyebrows during her Meghan, With Love series when she corrected close friend Mindy Kaling over her surname. When Mindy referred to her as a Markle, Meghan responded: “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying ‘Meghan Markle.’ You know I’m Sussex now.”
Meghan has had Sussex as a surname since her marriage to Prince Harry, although their children, Archie and Lilibet, use Mountbatten-Windsor for their surnames.
Prince William’s other title
We all know William as the Prince of Wales, but as soon as he goes north of the border, the royal is actually known by an entirely different title. Upon succeeding to the Prince of Wales title, William was also given the title of Duke of Rothesay, which is used when in Scotland.
The Dukedom dates back to 1398 and is traditionally used by the heir to the Scottish throne, which in this case is the British throne.
Duke of Edinburgh’s inheritance
Unlike titles like the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh belongs to the crown and so transfers back to the crown upon the holder’s death. As a result, when Prince Philip died in 2021, the title fell out of use until King Charles honoured his father’s wishes and bestowed the title on to Prince Edward.
At the time, Edward’s title of Count of Wessex was transferred to his eldest son, James, Viscount Severn. However, when Edward passes, the title will not be passed on to James and will instead transfer back to the crown where whoever is the monarch at the time can decide who to bestow the title upon.
Stripping of titles
It’s not just in the UK where name changes can get confusing, as European royals aren’t opposed to changing things up. In both Sweden and Denmark, several young royals have been stripped of their prince and princess titles, instead becoming counts or dukes.
The reasoning is often to allow the younger royals, who aren’t expected to inherit the crown, to have more autonomy with their lives and not feel restricted on their future career paths.
