Harry and Meghan break long-standing royal tradition by changing Archie and Lilibet's names

It's a symbolic change

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the 2024 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 11, 2024 in Hollywood, California
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made a big decision when it comes to their children's names.

Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, will still be known as such, but eagle-eyed royal fans have noticed one rather significant detail concerning the two kids on their parents' revamped website, sussex.com.

Indeed, we learned from the site that Archie and Lili have been using the surname Sussex since King Charles' Coronation, where they were previously known as Mountbatten-Windsor, as reported by the Mirror.

The news has come as a shock to some, as these new names mean they're now breaking a 64-year-old royal tradition established in 1960, which stated that male descendants of Queen Elizabeth II would be known by the name Mountbatten-Windsor.

But since Harry and Meghan became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, they are known by those names rather than by the double-barrelled moniker, meaning that their little ones now bear the same name as their parents.

"The reality behind the new site is very simple — it's a hub for the work the Sussexes do and it reflects the fact the family have, since the King's Coronation, the same surname for the first time," a source told The Times about the move (via the Mirror). "That's a big deal for any family. It represents their unification and it's a proud moment."

Harry and Meghan are making loads of changes in their lives of late, especially when it comes to their work. For example, The Duchess recently partnered with Lemonada Media on creating an upcoming podcast as a continuation of Spotify's Archetypes. She has also signed on with a Hollywood talent agent, and created a consumer brand named American Riviera Orchard.

Meanwhile, the Duke was just awarded the prestigious Pat Tillman Award for Service at the ESPY Awards.

Together, Harry and Meghan are also adapting the novel Meet Me at the Lake into film, among many other exciting endeavours.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.