Prince Harry asked uncle Earl Spencer for advice about changing his surname to honour his late mother amid deepening royal rift, insider reveals

Sky News AU

2 days ago

Prince Harry reportedly considered dropping his royal surname in favour of Spencer, the maiden name of his late mother Princess Diana, as tensions with his family continue to escalate.
The 40-year-old royal, who is fifth in line to the British throne, has "actively explored ways to assume his mother's surname", sources told Richard Eden of The Daily Mail.
It's understood he even discussed the issue with his uncle, Charles Earl Spencer, 61, during a recent trip to the UK.
"They had a very amicable conversation, and Spencer advised him against taking such a step," a friend of Harry's told the outlet, noting that the legal and logistical challenges were ultimately considered too great.
Had he proceeded, the move would have meant rejecting the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, the official last name used by Harry and his wife Meghan Markle's children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, who turns four this week.
Mountbatten-Windsor is a combination of the late Queen Elizabeth II's royal family name and the late Prince Philip's adopted surname.
Philip took on the name Mountbatten after becoming a naturalised British citizen and renouncing his Greek and Danish royal titles in 1947.
The name itself traces back to Philip's maternal uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten, a significant influence not only on Philip but also on his great-nephew, King Charles III.
Harry himself, born Henry Charles Albert David, has traditionally used titles rather than a surname.
During their school years and military service, both Harry and his brother William went by the surname Wales, derived from their father's title, the then Prince of Wales.
Photos from their time in the armed forces show Harry's uniform badge labelled "Harry Wales".
In 2018, Queen Elizabeth II granted Harry the title Duke of Sussex upon his marriage to Markle, who became the Duchess of Sussex.
Despite leaving the Royal Family and moving to the US in 2020, Meghan has stated she continues to use "Sussex" as her surname to share the same name as her children.
In the second episode of her Netflix cooking show "With Love, Meghan," she corrected guest Mindy Kaling, saying, "It's so funny you keep saying 'Meghan Markle', you know I'm Sussex now."
She added, "You have kids and you go, 'No, I share my name with my children'. I didn't know how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to go 'This is OUR family name. Our little family name'."
Controversy further arose when Meghan was accused of using the "HRH" title privately, despite an agreement with Buckingham Palace not to do so after stepping back from royal duties.
The issue came to light after a gift basket sent to a friend included a card signed "HRH The Duchess of Sussex".
Meanwhile, Prince Harry remains publicly estranged from senior royals, though he recently told the BBC he "would love a reconciliation".
"There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family," he said in a May interview following the rejection of his legal appeal regarding UK security arrangements.
"Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things but… there's no point in continuing to fight anymore."
He added: "Life is precious. I don't know how much longer my father has, he won't speak to me because of this security stuff.
"It would be nice to reconcile."
SkyNews.com.au has contacted Earl Spencer and representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.