Prince Harry was considering changing his surname to Spencer, his mother Princess Diana's maiden name, as his apparent rift with King Charles and Prince William deepens.
The Duke of Sussex is thought to have sought the aid of his uncle, Earl Charles Spencer, in his attempt to drop his current family name, Mountbatten-Windsor.
It is understood Harry had addressed the issue with Earl Spencer during a trip to the UK, reported the Daily Mail.
However, Earl Spencer quickly threw cold water on his nephew's idea – citing the apparently daunting legal issues in making the change.
Prince Harry investigated adopting his mother's maiden name amid his feud with King Charles and Prince William
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If successful, it would have seen Harry’s and his wife Meghan Markle’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, change their names to Spencer too.
News of the proposal comes at an awkward time for the duke given the apparent rift between him and the rest of the Royal Family.
In 1960, the late Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip decided that Mountbatten-Windsor would be the surname given to descendants their direct decedents.
It combines the Royal Family's name of Windsor, changed from the historic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1917, and the former Duke of Edinburgh's adopted surname.
Harry is thought to have approached Earl Charles Spencer, the brother his late mother Princess Diana, about the change
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The development will most likely come as a particular disappointment to King Charles, who is known to regard his family name with the same pride and adoration as his own father, Prince Phillip.
Mountbatten as a royal surname originates with the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was a mentor to Phillip and a close confidant of his great-nephew and the-then Prince of Wales, King Charles.
Philip took on the Mountbatten name when he renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles and became a naturalised British subject in 1947.
Evidently, names and titles are not just a sensitive subject for King Charles but also for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – titles that were granted on their 2018 wedding day by the late Queen.
Mountbatten-Windsor was chosen as the name available to the direct descendants of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip in 1960
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Further naming disputes became apparent earlier this year during an episode of the Duchess’ Netflix show, With Love, Meghan.
In a viral moment from episode two, actress Mindy Kaling reminisced about childhood dining habits, joking: "People wouldn't believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box."
Meghan took the opportunity to correct the actress over her preferred surname.
"It's so funny, too, that you keep saying, 'Meghan Markle.' You know, I'm Sussex now."
A hypothetical name change would have an impact on Harry and Meghan's children, , Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet
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The Duchess then explained the significance of the name change, adding: "You have kids, and you go, 'No, 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 name,'" she insisted.
Kaling appeared to take the correction in stride, nodding in agreement and responding: "Now I know, and I love it."
Meghan sparked controversy more recently with the claims she had been using the HRH title privately “for years,” despite an agreement with Buckingham Palace not to do so.
The debate intensified when a gift basket she sent to a friend appeared on a podcast, bearing a printed message from "HRH The Duchess of Sussex".
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Meghan previously made headlines by insisting her and her children's preferred family name was Sussex
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After stepping down as working royals in 2020, Harry and Meghan’s HRH titles were subsequently put into abeyance and removed from the Royal Family's website.
Palace courtiers believed the couple had from then on agreed not to use their titles in any form, "out of respect".
However, sources close to the Duke and Duchess insist they interpreted things differently.
The Sussexes believe they simply agreed not to use HRH for commercial purposes. Their understanding is that their titles remain, and they are free to use them in private settings.
The Duchess has referred to herself as HRH "ever since they relocated to the US, on private letters, gifts and invitations", according to reports in the Telegraph.
GB News has approached the Duke of Sussex's representatives for comment.
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