After stepping down from their royal duties and relocating to California, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were asked by the late Queen Elizabeth to cease using the “Sussex Royal” branding, as they were no longer working royals.
At the time, their Instagram page and website operated under the “Sussex Royal” name. Following the birth of their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2019, they launched “Archewell” as the name of their foundation and production company, a tribute to their firstborn.
However, after King Charles’ coronation, Harry and Meghan made a significant change: they decided that both Archie and Lilibet would officially adopt the surname “Sussex.”
Prince Harry had received the Sussex title upon his marriage to Meghan in May 2018. When Archie was born, he was not granted a royal title, following royal tradition which reserves such honors primarily for the monarch’s grandchildren through the direct line of succession.
Following Queen Elizabeth’s passing and King Charles’ ascension, Archie and Lilibet became eligible for royal titles. Their parents chose for them to be styled as Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
In a recent interview, The Office star Mindy Kaling referred to Meghan by her maiden name. Meghan quickly corrected her, saying, “You keep saying Meghan Markle — you know, I’m Sussex now. When you have kids, you think, ‘Now I share my name with my children.’ I didn’t realize how meaningful that would be, but it means so much to say, ‘This is our family name, our little family name.’”
Despite the personal meaning behind the decision, the move to change Archie and Lilibet’s surname from Mountbatten-Windsor to Sussex has drawn criticism from the public.
“Instead of rebranding, I’d like to see them actually accomplish something. It’s all spin and rather sad,” one commenter wrote.
“For someone who wanted to get away from the royal family, he seems to want a foot in both camps,” another added.
“This pair will do anything to stay in the limelight — complete hypocrites. For a couple who wanted privacy, they sure do a great job of staying in the media,” a third critic said.
In addition to the name change for their children, Harry and Meghan have rebranded their official website to Sussex.com, stating that the new name reflects their desire to “unify” their family identity.
