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A different name may help ease “tension” between Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and the royal family, a historian says. Ahead, why swapping titles for new last names would send a clear message to the Firm.
Historian says Windsor or Sussex last name would help Harry and Meghan show they’re prepared to ‘stop cashing in’ on royal ties
Harry and Meghan Windsor? Royal historian Marlene Koenig believes an informal name change is a necessary step in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s rebranding following Harry & Meghan docuseries and Spare.
According to Koenig, the couple could follow the lead of Prince Edward (via Express). Credits listed the now-58-year-old Earl of Wessex as Edward Windsor when he ran Ardent Productions in the 1990s.
“If they would use, for example, Harry and Megan Sussex, Harry and Megan Mountbatten Windsor,” it “would make much more sense and take away tension,” Koenig said.
Were Harry and Meghan to initiate an informal name change themselves the message would go well beyond palace walls. Going by another name would show the Firm and the U.K. they’re ready to sever any lingering ties with their royal status and are prepared to “stop cashing in” on their royal family connection.
New names, however, would have to be the start of a larger shift, Koenig added. Harry and Meghan “need to be more than just their titles and move beyond using their connections to establish a new life in America,” she said.
Harry doesn’t think giving up duke and duchess titles will make a difference
In a Jan. 8 60 Minutes interview ahead of Spare’s Jan. 10 release date, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper asked Harry about a title change. Specifically, him and Meghan forgoing duke and duchess titles.
“Why not renounce your titles as duke and duchess?” Cooper asked. Harry replied, giving an answer in the form of another question: “And what difference would that make?”
Harry and Meghan became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018. Since stepping back from royal life in 2020 the pair haven’t been permitted use of their HRH, or his/her royal highness, titles.
Harry and Meghan ‘now look forward’ to what’s next after ‘look back’ projects
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may already be well on their way to forging their own path sans royal connections. Their Archewell Foundation report, and some comments from a foundation staffer, suggest ready for what’s next.
Harry and Meghan were said to be looking “forward” following their “‘look back’ projects about the royal family and their exit. They’re understood to be putting a focus on scripted content via Archewell Productions.
In the meantime, Heart of Invictus, a docuseries on Harry’s Invictus Games that some say could provide a reputational boost, begins streaming in the summer of 2023.
