Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently made a significant change to their children’s surnames names by replacing Mountbatten-Windsor to Sussex – breaking away from a 64-year-old Royal tradition.
However, it is thought the late Duke of Edinburgh would not be best pleased with the swap, as he fought hard for the Mountbatten-Windsor name.
When Elizabeth II became Queen in 1952, Prince Philip was said to be hurt that his children would not bear his surname and were to be given the name Windsor after the Queen’s family.
But Winston Churchill and the late Queen’s private secretary Tommy Lascelles came up with a solution to name the male descendants Mountbatten-Windsor.
As reported in the Daily Mail, royal expert, Ingrid Seward said: “How sad, therefore, that only three generations later, Harry should so blatantly disregard his grandfather’s wishes and effectively abandon the family name for which Philip had fought.”
The change in name means the youngsters, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, are now known as Sussex instead of Mountbatten-Windsor. This departure was discovered on the couple’s new website, Sussex.com, which replaced their old site, Archwell.
Ms Seward went on to say the new name would make “Philip turn in his grave”. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have faced backlash after the rebranding of their website, after being accused of “monetising their status as royals”.
Harry and Meghan launched Sussex.com as a “one-stop shop” for their work and forthcoming activities. It is understood the couple will use the new website as a platform to also issue personal updates.
Meghan has since defended the website’s design, including its prominent use of their royal crest, in a statement posted on the design agency Article’s webpage.
She said in a review: “There is a reason I have worked with Ryan and the talented team at Article for a decade: their attention to detail, their creativity and care, and the thoughtful approach to design as well as to the user experience.
“They’re not just designers; they are collaborators who elevate your ideas into visual identities. They’re a very special company. Plus they’re Canadian, so I’m a fan.”
Canadian digital agency, Article, is responsible for the design of Meghan’s now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, as well as the couple’s former website, Achewell.
The couple reportedly purchased the rights for Sussex.com from a British man “without arguing the price”. A British businessman who used to own the domain is said to be “very happy” with the money received from the domain purchase, as reported by The Sun on Sunday.
A note on the couple’s new website states that “The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex is shaping the future through business and philanthropy”.
Harry’s page tells us: “Prince Harry lives in California with his wife Meghan, and their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet,” and Meghan’s page says: “Meghan lives in California with her husband and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”
