1 June 2025, 09:30
Harry alongside his uncle, Earl Charles Spencer.
Picture:
Getty
Prince Harry consulted his uncle, Princess Diana’s brother, about the possibility of changing his surname to Spencer.
According to sources, the Duke of Sussex seriously looked into taking on his mother’s maiden name—an action that would have meant abandoning the Mountbatten-Windsor surname, currently used by his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
It is believed that Harry raised the idea with Earl Spencer, Charles Spencer, the brother of late Lady Di during a rare trip to the UK, as reported in the MailOnline.
However, he was reportedly advised against the change due to significant legal challenges.
“They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step,” said a friend of Harry.
Prince Harry talks to the Earl Spencer shortly after arriving at Westminster Abbey for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Picture:
Alamy
Earl Spencer shared this week there was a fire at his ancestral home in Northamptonshire.
Althorp House – Diana’s childhood home – was the target of an arson attack which led to an unoccupied 18th Century farmhouse being “completely destroyed” by the fire.
The family said they are “stunned” by the attack but no one was injured.
The remains of the former Princess of Wales are buried on a small island known as ‘The Oval’ in the grounds of the country estate which has belonged to the Spencers for five centuries.
The 13,000 acre ancestral estate belongs to Earl Spencer.
A farmhouse was burnt to the ground.
Picture:
X/@cspencer1508
Althorp House was targeted in an arson attack.
Picture:
X/@cspencer1508
The surname Mountbatten-Windsor is designated for descendants of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, blending the Royal Family name of Windsor with the Duke of Edinburgh’s adopted surname.
On official documents, Harry and Meghan’s children are registered as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
Had the name change gone ahead, their daughter—who is thought to have met King Charles only once—would have been known as Lilibet Diana Spencer, offering a more direct homage to Harry’s late mother.
Read more: ‘Canada is strong and free’: King Charles says in throne speech in Canada amid rising Trump tensions
Read more: Meghan reveals profound impact of major ‘mum moment’ with Prince Archie
Meghan recently clarified that her surname is now Sussex in her new Netflix show With Love, Meghan.
The 43-year-old former actress corrected guest Mindy Kaling saying: “It’s so funny you keep saying ‘Meghan Markle’ – you know I’m Sussex now.”
TV still from With Love, Meghan.
Picture:
NETFLIX
Diana – the mother of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex – was just 36 when she was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31 1997.
Earl Spencer walked alongside the two princes behind her coffin at her funeral which was watched by billions.
The Earl of Spencer, Prince William, Prince Harry and Prince Charles at the funeral of Diana.
Picture:
Alamy