Harry Changing His Last Name Would've Been a ‘Slap in the Face' to Prince Philip—It's a ‘Public Rejection' of Charles' Family
Prince Harry changing his last name from 'Mountbatten-Windsor' to 'Spencer' would've offended more than King Charles. It would've hurt the entire side of his father's family as well.
Robert Jobson, a royal expert and the author of Catherine, the Princess of Wales: The Biography, told Newsweek in June 2025 that news of Harry almost changing his last name from his father's to his mother Princess Diana's would've been a 'slap in the face' to his grandfather, Prince Philip, where the Mountbatten name came from. (The Windsor part of Harry's surname came from his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.)
More from StyleCaster
'Sick' King Charles Faces Devastating News Amid Reports He 'Refused' Chemotherapy
Prince Harry Almost Severed Ties With 'Sick' King Charles For Good-But Princess Diana's Relative Stopped Him
'Let's be clear: changing his surname from Mountbatten-Windsor to Spencer would've been no small thing. It would've been a public rejection of his father's family, a slap in the face to the late Prince Philip, who fought tooth and nail to get that name recognized in the first place. For Harry to ditch it now? That would sting,' Jobson said.
Jobson explained that, while Harry changing his name to his mother's may seem like a tribute to the late Princess of Wales, who died in 1997 when Harry was 12 years old, it also would've been a jab at Harry's father, King Charles, whom he's been in a feud with ever since Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, left the British royal family and moved to America in 2020.
'The idea of Harry becoming 'Harry Spencer' may appeal to some,' Jobson said. 'Those who see him as his mother's son, always fighting against the establishment. But let's not pretend this would've been a noble gesture.
He continued, 'It would've looked petty, performative, and, frankly, unnecessary. Another line drawn in a family feud already far too public.'
News that Harry almost changed his last name from his father's to his mother's came after The Daily Mail reported in June 2025 that Harry consulted Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, about making the move but was advised against it. 'They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step,' a friend of Harry's told the Daily Mail, explaining that Harry decided against changing his name due to the legal challenges of such a decision.
Jobson speculated to Newsweek that Harry may have also decided against the decision to not completely sever ties with Charles and his family. 'It hasn't happened. Perhaps Harry realized it wouldn't bring him closer to Diana—it would just push him further from the family he still claims to want to reconcile with,' he said.
He continued, 'At some point, the performance has to stop. A name change wouldn't heal wounds; it would just deepen them. For once, walking away from drama may have been the wisest move he's made.'
Ingrid Seward, author of My Mother and I, also questioned Harry's decision to change his last name. 'I can't see that Harry would have anything to gain but there is nothing to stop him becoming Harry Spencer. I think the king would just find it extremely hurtful,' she said.
News that Harry considered changing his name came ater Meghan corrected Mindy Kaling in an episode of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, after Kaling referred to her as 'Meghan Markle.' 'It's so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know I'm Sussex now,' Meghan told Kaling.
The name change report also comes after Harry told the BBC that he wanted to reconcile with his family, but his father was preventing those efforts. 'I can't see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point,' he said. 'There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family.
Harry went on to add that he's 'forgiven' his family now that a lot of time has passed. 'I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious,' he said.
Best of StyleCaster
The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like
These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier
BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
LA police shot my photographer in the head
A pepper ball round thwacks my colleague in the side of the head as we run away from police. A cloud of the irritant fills the air, coating my goggles, followed by a crackle and the glare of flash bangs. 'Go, go, go!' he shouts. Police officers are firing into the crowd protesting against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in downtown Los Angeles. Once again, reporters appear to be in the crosshairs. Jon Putman, The Telegraph's photographer, took a blow to the head, one of many journalists hit or detained since protests broke out on Friday. Jon was struck in the ear, narrowly avoiding a serious injury. 'If it hit me right in the head it would have knocked me down and I would have been out of commission,' he said. Los Angeles is being heavily militarised. Mr Trump sent in 1,700 of National Guard over the weekend, and a further 700 marines on Monday. There are now more US soldiers here than in Syria. We weren't the only journalists to come under fire amidst the protests on Monday night, which appear to be shrinking in scale but not have been more than two dozen attacks on reporters covering the Los Angeles riots in the past few days, with clearly identified members of the press having been shot at point-blank range by police officers. An Australian broadcaster was shot in the leg, a New York Post photographer in the head and a CNN reporter was briefly detained live on air. Credit: CNN British photojournalist Nick Stern required emergency surgery after being shot by an explosive round on Saturday. Sergio Olmos, an investigative reporter for the nonprofit news outlet CalMatters, told the Washington Post that he had never seen more non-lethal rounds used at a protest. On Monday evening, the smell of paint lingered in the air in Los Angeles as teenagers spray painted the pavements, walls and bus stops with slogans such as 'fight hate with hate' and 'I'll be here till I decide not to be'. Snipers stationed on the roof of the Federal Building watched through binoculars as protesters climbed traffic lights and revved their motorcycles. A black Cybertruck graffitied with 'f--- ICE' [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was filmed driving around the protest with a Mexican flag attached to the back. On Sunday, demonstrators torched self-driving cars, threw Molotov cocktails, fireworks and scooters at police officers. Officers have fired non-lethal rounds into crowds, and in at least one instance were filmed firing pepper ball rounds (small plastic bullets filled with irritant) point blank at a protester before hitting him with batons. Credit: @Julio_Rosas11/X In another, ICE officers swept in on a man in a yellow jacket before tackling him to the ground and arresting him, while other protesters were detained, their hands zip-tied behind their backs, and put into police vans. The protests erupted in the city on Friday in response to ICE officers conducting a string of raids as part of Mr Trump's aggressive immigration policies. More than 40 people – said to be day labourers – were targeted at a Home Depot car park and Ambiance Apparel, a clothing manufacturer, in LA's fashion district. The crackdown is the Trump administration's latest test to the limits to his presidential authority to force Democrat-run states to adhere to federal decree, while also attempting to show its might by ordering troops onto the streets. US Marines have been deployed domestically for major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the September 11 attacks in 2001, but it is extremely rare for the military to be used for domestic policing. When all the deployed officers arrive, it will mean there are more than 4,000 troops in Los Angeles, more than double the number of US troops in Syria. Credit: Sergio Olmos/X The news of yet more reinforcements further inflamed tensions between Gavin Newsom, the California governor, and Mr Trump, who continued to publicly attack each other on Monday. Mr Newsom, who has sued the administration to try and block the deployment of marines and troops, accused the Trump administration of mistreating those already in the city, of which only 300 have so far have been deployed. Sharing a picture of troops dressed in fatigues sleeping on the floor, Mr Newsom wrote: 'If anyone is treating our troops disrespectfully, it is you.'He urged the US president to 'grow up' and urged him 'get it over with, arrest me, move on, if you need some head to scalp do it with me'. Justifying the decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles, Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security, claimed ICE agents were targeting the 'worst of the worst' – criminal illegal immigrants hiding among law-abiding communities. But advocates for immigrants' rights have argued that day labourers being detained outside Home Depot stores suggests otherwise. Julie Flores, 21, wrapped herself in a Mexican flag as she stood on the bonnet of a black car sprayed with the words 'f--- ICE'. The student told The Telegraph the protests 'hit close to home' because her father Jerry Flores, 39, who is originally from Guerrero in Mexico was detained by agents when she was at middle school. 'My grandma would probably not like me being out here... we're out here showing our support, doing the best we can do,' she said. On Monday, Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, condemned the ICE raids, claiming they had brought 'fear and terror' to the streets of Los Angeles and were to blame for the unrest. Yurien, 20, found out ICE agents were targeting her father Mario's work at Ambiance Apparel when he messaged her to tell her he was hiding. 'I said 'OK dad, I love you, don't make any noise… I told him I loved him again. He said 'me too, I love you guys…' and since then, I haven't had communication with him,' she told The Telegraph. Yurien, who did not want to give her last name, said she raced to the workplace in downtown Los Angeles and saw her father, who is from Mexico and has lived in the US for decades, being escorted to a van and driven away. 'I felt devastated, mad, angry... because there was nothing I could do to stop it,' she said, clutching a poster which read 'dad, come back home'. University student Montserrat Arrazola, 22, also saw her father being detained by ICE agents on Friday after she rushed to Ambiance Apparel when she saw the raid was happening on TikTok. Speaking to The Telegraph after a press conference outside the clothing manufacturer on Monday morning, she said: 'I felt powerless. I felt like I had my hands tied because I couldn't do anything.' She has managed to speak to her father, Jorge, who moved to the US from Mexico 'many years ago' on the phone once since then. He said he was okay. 'I have a lot of emotions running through me. I can't really explain,' she said, adding that she had not been to any of the protests that have broken out in response. Joanna Lopez, 17, discovered three of her uncles, who had all moved to the US from Mexico as teenagers, had been detained on Friday after she also saw it unfold on social media. 'I just feel for everybody whose families are being taken away right now,' she said. Ms Lopez, who attended the protest later that day, said she was 'very disappointed' in the people who had turned to violence and vandalism, adding that it portrays the scores of peaceful protesters in a bad light. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Turn Cornwall into industrial zone for net zero, Miliband urged
Cornwall should be made into an industrial hub to fuel net zero, government scientists have urged Ed Miliband. Britain's favourite holiday county and the broader South West of England have been deemed an energy 'super-region', meaning its geology is suited to a raft of new energy-based industries. The hot volcanic rocks lying below parts of Cornwall and Devon make them a top prospect for geothermal energy, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS), which advises the Government on the country's earth science. 'Deep geothermal resources alone could provide enough energy to satisfy the UK's heating needs for at least 100 years,' the quango said. The brines found in many of Cornwall's abandoned mines are also rich in lithium, a mineral essential for making batteries. Meanwhile, Dorset offers the potential for energy storage with rocks suitable for creating caverns to store natural gas or hydrogen, according to the quango. There are already separate plans to create such caverns under Portland Harbour, Britain's former biggest naval base. 'South-west England has significant deep geothermal resources offering opportunities for sustainable heat and power generation,' the BGS said. 'The region's sedimentary basins provide potential sites for carbon capture and storage (CCS), energy storage and geothermal projects … the region is well placed to support the UK's decarbonisation plans.' The Eden Project near St Austell already exploits the region's natural advantages, keeping visitors warm using heat extracted from rocks 3.3-miles beneath its surface. However, the idea of expanding such schemes into a major industry in a county valued for its coastlines, landscapes and tourism is likely to face opposition. The South West is one of several areas whose geology the BGS suggests could support the move to net zero. Others include Northern Ireland, central Scotland, northern England and East Anglia. 'These geological super regions contain subsurface formations and conditions that are favourable to multiple different technologies within a relatively small area,' it said. The Scottish Central Belt is also deemed to be a rich source of geothermal energy with warm underground strata easily accessible via the region's many abandoned coal mines. Michelle Bentham, BGS chief scientist for decarbonisation and resource management, said: 'In Europe, geothermal energy is used much more widely. In the UK, we don't use it as widely and it's always been a bit of a Cinderella of clean energy technologies.' The BGS said careful planning for such technologies in these areas could help unlock an estimated £40bn of annual investment and support the Government's target of creating 650,000 jobs through renewable energy by 2030. Ms Bentham added: 'In the North Sea, we could potentially become a hub for carbon storage in Europe for countries that don't have the right geology who are trying to decarbonise.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Daily T: ‘Tax rises are inevitable' – Rachel Reeves's spending review decoded
The Chancellor's much-anticipated spending review is a day away, with extra cash expected for defence, health and education. Are tax rises on the horizon to pay for all this? Camilla is joined by guest presenter Jacob Rees-Mogg, who says Labour doesn't understand business and argues that Keir Starmer could survive sacking Rachel Reeves… The former Tory MP also reacts to the Government's U-turn on the winter fuel payment, supposedly a response to a healthier economy under Labour. But the unemployment and jobs figures seem to say otherwise. Plus, how two very different rows about immigration triggered riots in North Ireland and in LA. Protests turned violent after an alleged sexual assault in Ballymena, while unrest is ongoing in California's biggest city over ICE raids and Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Watch episodes of the Daily T here. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
