Prince Harry Spoke to Princess Diana's Brother About Changing His Family's Last Name to Spencer: Report
Prince Harry reportedly asked his uncle Charles Spencer for advice about potentially changing his family's last name to Spencer
The British royal family's historic surname of Mountbatten-Windsor is the last name on the birth certificates of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet
According to , the 9th Earl Spencer advised Harry against the name change
Prince Harry reportedly spoke with his uncle Charles Spencer about the idea of taking Princess Diana's surname for his family.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, "actively explored ways to assume his mother's last name — a move that would have involved ditching Mountbatten-Windsor, used by his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet," The Mail on Sunday reported.
Harry allegedly discussed the idea of the name change with his uncle, the 9th Earl Spencer, who is the younger brother of his late mother, Princess Diana, during a previous visit to the U.K., but was told that the legal challenges would be too great.
"They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step," a friend of Prince Harry's was quoted as saying by the Mail on Sunday.
A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. PEOPLE has also reached out to Charles Spencer for comment.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle share children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, who turns 4 on June 4, and both children's birth certificates list their last names as Mountbatten-Windsor.
However, the family now uses Sussex as their last name, similarly to how Harry was known as "Harry Wales" when he was growing up and his mother and father were the Prince and Princess of Wales.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Meghan spoke about how the Sussex name took on an even deeper meaning after she and Prince Harry had children.
"It's our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn't recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children," the Duchess of Sussex says. "I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me."
Meghan and Harry's Sussex last name sparked conversation following the premiere of her lifestyle series With Love, Meghan on Netflix in March, when the Duchess of Sussex corrected her friend Mindy Kaling for calling her by her maiden name, Markle.
Mountbatten-Windsor is the British royal family's official surname used by some descendants of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and the outlet speculated that dropping the surname would have been a slight to King Charles, "who cherishes the Mountbatten name just as his father did."
"The distance between the Duke of Sussex and his father, the King, shows no sign of narrowing amid a rift that first surfaced when Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
A key point of tension remains the state-funded security the couple lost at the time — a factor Prince Harry recently highlighted in a BBC interview, saying he "can't see a world" where he would bring his wife and children back to the U.K. without that vital protection.
The Mountbatten name comes from the late Prince Philip's side of the family and was the surname the Greek prince adopted when he became a British citizen in 1947 and joined the Royal Navy, as explained by the royal family's official website. Windsor, meanwhile, was adopted by King George V as the British royal surname in 1917.
In 1960, the Queen and Philip determined that Mountbatten-Windsor would be the surname for their direct descendants, when required.
While members of the British royal family don't typically use last names as most people do, it's an informal tradition within the family for children to take their parents' titles as the basis for their surnames, when necessary. Prince Harry and Prince William were known as "Harry Wales" and "William Wales" while enrolled at schools and enlisted in the military in a nod to the Prince of Wales title used by their father, King Charles, at the time.
Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
As grandchildren of the monarch, Prince Harry and Meghan's children were afforded the titles of prince and princess when King Charles acceded in September 2022. Soon after, their names were updated on the royal family website to "Prince Archie of Sussex" and "Princess Lilibet of Sussex" in the official line of succession to the throne. Meghan and Harry were granted the royal titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex by Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth on their May 2018 wedding day.
Last year, PEOPLE confirmed that Harry and Meghan adopted their Sussex titles as the last name for Archie and Lilibet, continuing the tradition.
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