For the first time since Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior members of the royal family, the Duchess of Sussex made a massive change with how she uses her name.
Meghan, who married Prince Harry in 2018, used her maiden name during her engagement at the Girl Up Summit.
Girl Up is an initiative that unites all powerful women worldwide to champion several events regarding various issues. The foundation scheduled this year’s three-day virtual gathering from July 13 to 15.
Before she started her part in the virtual event, she was introduced as “The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle” instead of the usual “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.”
Meghan’s full name also appeared in the title of Girl Up’s YouTube video showing the recorded speech after the event.
Meghan stopped using her last name in official documents after marrying the Duke of Sussex. Previously, she was credited as “Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex” for her voiceover role in the Disney Plus documentary titled “Elephant.”
Meanwhile, she signed her name on her 1-year-old son Archie’s birth certificate as Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.
Ever since the Sussexes’ left The Firm, speculations swirled over whether Meghan would prefer using the name Mountbatten-Windsor — the royal family’s official last name mostly used by members who do not hold HRH titles.
Although their son Archie uses the last name, neither Prince Harry nor Meghan have used it in an official capacity.
Prince Harry Dropped His Name, Too
After their royal exit was made official at the end of March 2020, Prince Harry also removed the titles from his name.
According to The Daily Mail, the Duke of Sussex registered his name for his new sustainable and eco-friendly tourism initiative Travalyst. However, the documents showed that he did not use his HRH title nor his family name, Mountbatten-Windsor.
Instead of writing his full name, the Duke chose to list himself as “Prince Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex.”
Travalyst also removed “His Royal Highness” from Harry’s name on their website earlier this month.
Previously, the website’s mission statement stated that the program was led by “HRH The Duke of Sussex.” Now, it only reads “led by The Duke of Sussex.”
In February 2020, Prince Harry attended the Travalyst event at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, during which he asked a favor from the host.
The 35-year-old royalty told the conference’s host, former Labor adviser and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika, to introduce him to the stage just as Harry — ultimately dropping the “Prince” from his name.
“So ladies and gentlemen, please give a big, warm, Scottish welcome to Harry,” Hazarika said in his introduction of Prince Harry.
Furthermore, when the family-of-three moved to California, Harry was referred to as “Individual Person with Significant Control” after setting up an office somewhere in Beverly Hills and London.
“Other professional, scientific and technical activities not elsewhere classified,” a source said.