Meghan says her last name is Sussex. Why is she facing backlash?

American actor Meghan Markle is out with a new lifestyle series With Love, Meghan on Netflix. The show features Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, cooking, gardening and decorating along with her celebrity guests.

In the second episode featuring American actor and comic Mindy Kaling as a guest, Meghan reveals her last name is Sussex. However, some British royal fans have questioned this, saying that it is not her surname.

Let’s find out.

What Meghan Markle said

While assembling sandwiches with the Duchess of Sussex, Mindy Kaling says “I don’t think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack In The Box and loves it.”

Meghan quickly corrects Kaling and replies: “It’s so funny that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know, I’m Sussex now”.

“You have kids and you go, I share my name with my children. I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to go, this is our family name. Our little family now,” she adds.

Speaking to People magazine, Meghan said the Sussex name is part of her “love story” with Prince Harry.

“It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognised how meaningful that would be to me until we had children,” Meghan, 43, told People. “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”

“I think as the kids get older, they’re so excited about, ‘Oh my gosh, Mama and Papa, how did you meet?’ I think that will come with time as they get older, but for right now a huge part of our love story is that we share the name Sussex," she added.

Why are royal fans blasting Meghan?

Many British royal fans have slammed Meghan Markle for saying her last name is Sussex.

One royal fan commented on X: “Her name is NOT Meghan Sussex. Her name is technically Rachel Mountbatten-Windsor. Sussex is a county in England & part of a courtesy title-NOT her last name.”

Another wrote, “‘Duchess of Sussex’ is a courtesy title she holds only through her marriage. It is not her surname and I’m quite sure she doesn’t have ‘Meghan Sussex’ on her California drivers license. Legally her last name should be Mountbatten-Windsor.’

A third targeted Meghan for her response to Kaling: “So who criticises a guest like that? And her last name is not Sussex. Wouldn’t it be Mountbatten-Windsor?”

So, is it not Meghan Sussex?

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were granted the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2018 when the couple got married.

When their son was born in 2019, his legal name was Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, according to his birth certificate published online.

Meghan and Harry’s daughter was born Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor on June 4, 2021, as per her birth certificate.

The children were given the titles of prince and princess when their grandfather King Charles became monarch in September 2022.

As per the People report, the couple used their children’s royal titles for the first time in March 2023 while announcing Lili’s christening. Their names have also been updated to “Prince Archie of Sussex” and “Princess Lilibet of Sussex” on the British royal family’s official website.

Why is the British royal family’s last name?

It differs.

“Members of the Royal Family can be known both by the name of the Royal house, and by a surname, which are not always the same,” the official royal website reads. “And often they do not use a surname at all.”

But royals with titles do not usually have last names.

Members of the royal family can also use their family’s official title. Prince Harry and Prince William were known at school and in the military as Harry Wales and William Wales. Charles, before becoming the king, was known as the Prince of Wales.

Similarly, Prince George and his siblings, the children of Prince William and Kate Middleton, took the surname Cambridge for their time at school, from his father’s previous title as Duke of Cambridge.

However, these are not commonly used and the royal family is popularly known by their first name or their title.

With inputs from agencies