Prince Harry reportedly spoke to Princess Diana’s brother about changing his family name to Spencer

Reports are emerging that Prince Harry once seriously considered taking his late mother Princess Diana's surname for his family.

People Magazine was the first to break the news. The 40-year-old Duke of Sussex shares Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet with Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. Per the outlet, he was once actively looking into ways to drop Mountbatten-Windsor, his family name, for Spencer.

Though his children currently go by the family name, Prince Harry allegedly spoke with his uncle, Charles Spencer, about the idea during one of his rare trips to the U.K. The ninth Earl Spencer is Princess Diana's younger brother. However, he was deterred by the slew of legal challenges it would entail.

Here's what we know about why Prince Harry dropped his mother's name and adopted a new name instead

One of the Invictus Games founders' friends told People Magazine,

"They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step."

The New York Post has reported that should the Spare author have gone through with his quest, the move would not have been received well by his father, King Charles, and brother, Prince William, as they have both long been proud of their family name.

All the descendants of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are given the Mountbatten-Windsor surname, given that they are members of the monarchy. Windsor comes from the Queen's side, while Mountbatten is derived from Philip’s adopted surname.

As pointed out by the Post, Prince Harry's children's official names on their birth certificates are Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. However, reports emerged last year that the family had officially opted to be known as "Sussex" henceforth.

Prince Harry's wife, 43, confirmed the news earlier this year, during her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan. When Mindy Kaling addressed her by her maiden name, Meghan Markle, she revealed:

“It’s so funny that you keep saying ‘Meghan Markle.’ You know I’m Sussex now."

She added,

“You have kids and you go, ‘No, I share my name with my children.'"

The duchess continued,

“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.'”

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The Daily Mail has reported that Archie is now six years old, while his sister, Lilibet, turns four this Wednesday. They have since been named as Prince and Princess of Sussex on the line of succession page of the official Royal Family website, and are currently sixth and seventh in line to the throne, respectively.

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