Prince Harry Reportedly Considered This Drastic Measure To Distance Himself From The Royal Family

While Prince Harry has dropped some subtle hints in recent months that he may be ready to mend fences with the royal family, there was a time when the Duke of Sussex was so fed up with his famous family that he even considered changing his name. Apparently, Harry once spoke with Charles Spencer, Princess Diana's brother, about the possibility of changing his last name from Mountbatten-Windsor to Spencer. Both William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry seem to have a good relationship with Diana's brother Charles. So, while the royal defector likely wouldn't have felt comfortable floating the idea of dropping the royal family name with that same family, an uncle on his mother's side would be a safer sounding board.

According to the Daily Mail, Harry's uncle advised him against such taking such drastic action, especially considering the potential legal issues involved in a name change as well as the backlash it was sure to cause with the royal family. It would be quite the public repudiation of his family if Harry went through with it too. The name Mountbatten-Windsor comes from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Those who watched the first season of "The Crown," on Netflix, may recall the drama behind what last name the queen's children would have.

The reports that the Duke of Sussex apparently considered taking his mother's last name in the wake of Prince Harry's ongoing rift with the royal family led to some pretty intense social media reactions. One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, reasoned: "If you change your name and give up all the benefits of being Prince Harry then by all means just be a common Spencer we are not going to protest." Another similarly commented, "If he wants to give up his father's name, he should give up *all* the titles and privileges that come with being his son."

Some questioned whether the royal defector would still be able to use prince in his name if he was a Spencer, while plenty of people understandably reckon that Harry taking his mother's last name would be an insult to King Charles III and a snub at his family history. While we don't know the details of the reported conversation between Harry and his uncle about a potential update to his last name, he obviously didn't go ahead with any formal name changes. 

However, his wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, notably has. During an episode of her "With Love, Meghan" series, on Netflix, the former "Suits" star corrected actor and friend Mindy Kaling when she referred to her last name as Markle. Meghan clarified that she'd changed her last name to Sussex. Queen Elizabeth II granted the couple their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they got married in 2018.