What will Meghan Markle’s surname and title be when she marries Prince Harry?
We are very confused
Last updated 28th Nov 2017
In case you missed it Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged and the world has gone Royal wedding mad. Everyone’s swooning over the adorable details of the proposal and there’s national uproar over the lack of bank holiday to mark the momentous occasion. It’s been a big 24 hours.
But before we get too over excited about the upcoming nuptials, we just have a couple important questions. Like what title will Meghan take? And what on earth will her surname be?
What title will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle take? Will Meghan become a princess?
Despite marrying Prince Harry, it turns out Meghan won’t automatically become a princess – as it’s not possible to become a royal princess by marriage in the UK.
However, Meghan will be referred to as 'Her Royal Highness Princess Henry of Wales' when the couple marry in the spring.
But she won’t be called Princess Meghan – just as Kate Middleton isn’t known as Princess Kate, but the Duchess of Cambridge.
According to The Telegraph, Meghan is most likely to become the first ever Duchess of Sussex.
Male members of the Royal family are given a title by the reigning monarch on the wedding day, and Duke of Sussex is tipped as the favourite to be handed to Harry.
“They’re quite limited in the titles that are available. The Duke of Sussex is the front-runner without any doubt,” editor of Debrett’s Peerage & Baronetage, Charles Kidd, told The Telegraph.
The Dukedoms of Clarence and Buckingham are also potentials.
Still with us? OK, now let’s talk surnames...
What will Meghan Markle’s surname be when she marries Prince Harry?
Here’s where things get even more complicated.
Basically, our current Queen wanted to spice things up a little and, after Windsor became the official Royal Family name in 1952, decided to give her and Prince Philip’s own descendants a different surname from 1960 (but without changing the name of the Royal house).
“It was therefore declared in the Privy Council that The Queen's descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor,” the official royal website states.
So, after wedding Prince Harry, Meghan has the option of taking on the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. Her full name would Rachel Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor.
(Sidenote: Did you know Meghan’s name is actually Rachel Meghan Markle?)
BUT, to make things extra difficult, royals apparently don’t really use a surname.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan, royal expert Marlene Koenig explained, “Once married, Meghan will sign as Meghan, no last name. Just as Harry signs as Harry. Royals use only a first name.”
Instead, they often take on their title as their last name. For instance, Cosmo reports that Kate and Will’s son George is registered at school as George Cambridge.
We’re really struggling with this and dread to think of the whole passport debacle. The thought of all the paperwork is hurting our brains.
In the meantime, we’re just going to scroll through these pretty pictures from the engagement announcement.
