Prince Harry: Does he want to accept his mother's name?

Von WOM

Prinz Harry erwägt, seinen Nachnamen in Diana Spencer zu ändern, trotz rechtlicher Hürden und familiärer Spannungen.
Prince Harry is considering changing his last name in Diana Spencer, despite legal hurdles and family tensions. (Symbolbild/DNAT)

Prince Harry seriously thinks of changing his last name to honor his late mother, Diana Spencer. According to Kosmo Harry asked his uncle Charles Spencer for advice whether he could take the name Spencer. However, this advised Harry from changing the name, since the legal hurdles are considerable.

The consideration of taking the last name Mountbatten windsor must also be understood in the context of tensions within the royal family. Harry's children, Archie and Lilibet, proudly bear the name Mountbatten-Windsor-a connection that goes back to the name of the British royal family and that of Prince Philip, who assumed this name in 1947 when he received British citizenship.

family history and tradition

Since Harry and Meghan married 2018, the family name is the focus of the public discussion. In their marriage, they received the title "Duke and Duchess of Sussex" from Queen Elizabeth II. The title Duke of Sussex was last awarded in 1843, and Harry has been referred to as "Die Sussexes" together with Meghan since then. The name Mountbatten-Windsor is a sign of connection with the royal family tradition that Harry and his wife Meghan wanted to maintain for her descendants.

In the past, Meghan, as she explained in a Netflix documentary, insisted that "Sussex" was her family name, which underlines the importance of such names for the family.

Current developments in the monarchy

The discussion about names and titles within the royal family happens against the background of an eventful time for the British monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022 after 70 years of reign. Her son Charles became King Charles III on May 6, 2023. Crowned and had to struggle with a cancer diagnosis since February 2024, as reported by NDR

The developments around Harry and his considerations on the name change are part of a larger story about the modern British royal family, in which old traditions and new challenges collide. The decision to change a name could not only reflect Harry's relationship with his family, but also his personal ambitions and the pursuit of one's own identity outside of the royal norms

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OrtBuckingham Palace, London, Vereinigtes Königreich
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