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Mountbatten-Windsor OR Sussex: Meghan Markle has to choose one of these options if she wants to have a surname

Meghan already had to drop her maiden name after getting married to Harry and taking her HRH title
UPDATED FEB 28, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Although their official website said that Meghan Markle and Harry will retain their titles even after they officially leave the royal family on March 31, the pair seem keen to let people call them by their names only.

While Meghan Markle was addressed as only 'Meghan' by British Vogue editor Edward Enninful in an Instagram video shared last week, Harry urged the hosts of an eco-tourism summit in Edinburgh that he attended this week to just refer to him by his first name

“He has made it clear we are all just to call him ‘Harry’," said journalist Ayesha Hazarika, one of the hosts at the event, while Lord Thurso, chair of local tourism agency VisitScotland said, "I was about to call him Your Royal Highness, but I’ll just introduce Harry!"

As a result, people started to wonder if Meghan would continue in the same way since she already had to drop her maiden name after marriage, or would adopt a more traditional royal surname.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex depart Canada House on January 07, 2020 in London, England (Getty Images)

Royal family members usually do not have a surname attached to their first names if they have a royal title with their name. When Meghan married Prince Harry in 2018,  she dropped her maiden name and came to be known as Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex.

Post Megxit, however, it is very likely that Meghan will not continue to use her royal title. In case she is not opting to go surname-less, she might opt for the alternative — Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor. 

According to the royal family's official website, members who carry HRH (His Royal Highness) titles do not legally have to adopt the family's last name, but if they do need to use one, they can use 'Mountbatten-Windsor' — a combination of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth's last names. 

"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," a statement on the royal website reads.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive to attend the European Premiere of Disney's "The Lion King" at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 14, 2019 in London, England (Getty Images)

Harry and Meghan's son, Archie, has already adopted the alternative as his full name reads Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. When he was born, the couple had announced that they did not want their child to have the HRH prefix.

There was a second option for Meghan — being called Meghan Sussex — if the couple decides to make their title their name, as many royals before them have done.

"Members of the Royal Family can be known both by the name of the Royal house and by a surname, which are not always the same," the royal website says.

However, with no official announcement, one has to wait for the couple to tell the world which name they would prefer to be called by.

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