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Breaking news:Prince Harry ‘asked Princess Diana’s brother whether he could change his surname from Mountbatten-Windsor to Spencer’ see More

Prince Harry ‘asked Princess Diana’s brother whether he could change his surname from Mountbatten-Windsor to Spencer’
The Duke of Sussex sought advice from Earl Spencer about changing his last name from Mountbatten-Windsor to his mother’s maiden name, an insider has claimed
By Isaac Bickerstaff
2 June 2025
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Prince Harry, who has grown increasingly close to the Spencer family amid his ongoing feud with the Windsors, reportedly asked his uncle Earl Spencer whether he could take on Princess Diana’s maiden name Samir Hussein
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Prince Harry has perhaps one of the most recognisable names in the world. Once published in the Court Circular and royal wedding invitations, now splashed across front pages and gossip columns, the Duke of Sussex is near ubiquitous. But, a source has claimed, the royal very nearly changed his surname from Mountbatten-Windsor to Spencer, seeking advice from Earl Spencer about using Princess Diana’s maiden name.
Harry raised the topic with his uncle during a rare trip to Britain, but was informed that the legal challenges involved would be insurmountable.‘They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step,’ a friend of the Prince told the Mail on Sunday. Could this summit of surnames have occurred when the Prince stayed at Earl Spencer’s family seat, Althorp, after the funeral of Lord Julian Fellowes last August?
Had the Duke gone ahead with his plan to take on the Spencer name, he would have lost Mountbatten-Windsor, the name currently used by the children he shares with Meghan Markle – Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The name was created by Queen Elizabeth II, who on 8 February 1960 decreed that her descendants should bear a surname that references both the House of Windsor and the name of her husband, Prince Philip, who replaced his ‘Prince of Greece and Denmark’ title with the surname ‘Mountbatten’ after he became a naturalised British citizen in 1947. Thus, ‘Mountbatten-Windsor’.