Meghan Markle sparked confusion earlier this year after correcting pal Mindy Kaling about her surname. In an episode of “With Love, Meghan,” the Duchess joked, “It’s so funny that you keep saying Markle too. You know I’m Sussex now!”
Well, actually, most of us weren’t aware that Sussex counted as Meghan’s surname. And it seems the former actress picked up on the confusion.
She recently tried to clear things up, although it’s not exactly straightforward…
Why is Sussex Meghan Markle’s “family name?”
In a recent Bloomberg interview, Meghan tackled the confusion around her surname.
“When I got married I changed my name. But it’s a complicated one for people to understand, because a last name is not typical in that construct,” she explained. Clearly, Mindy wasn’t the only one struggling to grasp the change. And with good reason – royal titles are seriously complicated.
As Meghan put it: “It’s a dukedom. That’s the truth of it.” In other words, Sussex isn’t technically a surname. Still, with her legal name listed as “Meghan Duchess of Sussex,” it probably makes sense to use Sussex.
Members of the British Royal Family often don’t have surnames. Prince Harry was born Henry Charles Albert David, with no surname listed on his birth certificate. His official title is Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales. Thus, he often went by “Harry Wales” in his younger days. Queen Elizabeth II gave him the peerage of the Duke of Sussex on his wedding day in 2018.
Some royals use the Mountbatten-Windsor surname, but it’s reserved for those without an HRH title. Because Harry holds one, he’s never needed the surname. Even after stepping back from the monarchy in 2020, he kept the HRH designation. Which meant he and Meghan didn’t have to change to the Mountbatten-Windsors.
Still confused? Meghan feels your pain: “I get it because I’m American. I went there and I started to understand, then you come back and as an American, you go, ‘I’m so confused.’
“What I learned about myself is no matter what my name is or what people call me, I’m still the same person.”
TELL US – DO YOU LIKE THE FAMILY NAME “SUSSEX?”
