Meghan Markle Tells Mindy Kaling She Goes by "Sussex Now" When It Comes to Her Royal Last Name
The Duchess of Sussex opened up about her "little family name."
One question that often comes up about the Royal Family is what they use as a last name. Princess Kate and Prince William—along with their kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis— go by the surname Wales due to their titles of Prince and Princess of Wales, for example. And when Meghan Markle gave birth to Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, their last names were listed as Mountbatten-Windsor, a family name the royals can use. However, the Duchess of Sussex revealed in her new Netflix show that they've now gone in a new direction.
After King Charles's coronation, the couple made headlines when a change to the Royal Family's website revealed Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 3, listed as Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet of Sussex. And now in an episode of With Love, Meghan, the duchess confirmed (via People) that the family uses "Sussex" as their shared last name while chatting with guest Mindy Kaling about their childhoods.
"People wouldn’t believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box," Kaling said during the episode, with the duchess replying, "It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now."
She continued, "You have kids and you go, 'No, I share my name with my children.' I didn’t know how meaningful that would be to me, but it just means so much to go, this is our family name, our little family name."
With Love, Meghan, originally scheduled to release in January, was pushed back to March 4 due to the Los Angeles wildfires.
In a March 3 interview with People, the duchess also spoke of her last name, sharing, "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."
Along with their surname, the Duchess of Sussex touched on what it's like being a working mom as her kids get older.
"When your children get to a certain age—when you’re not just playing in the sandbox with them but almost playing in your own sandbox again—it’s super joyful," she told People. "As a woman, a mom and a wife, to be able to find yourself again—in a way that was always present but that you maybe couldn’t put as much attention on as you now can when your kids are a little bit older—is a wonderful feeling."
