A lot of talk about royal titles has been going around this week—but did you know Prince Harry actually has a secret first name?
That’s right! According to his son’s birth certificate, when the Duke of Sussex was born to King Charles III and the late Princess Diana on September 15, 1984, he wasn’t officially named Harry.
Anyone else suddenly questioning everything they thought they knew?
Why has there been so much discussion about royal titles lately?
Earlier this week, Meghan Markle revealed that she, Prince Harry, and their two children had actually been using a little-known surname behind the scenes.
In an interview with PEOPLE Magazine, the former Suits actress shared that she, Harry, their five-year-old son Archie, and three-year-old daughter Lilibet have all been going by the surname Sussex as their official family name for some time.
The Duchess explained that the title was granted to her and Harry by his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, on their wedding day.
“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,” she said.
“I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together.”
Since this revelation, public interest in royal surnames has spiked—especially in regard to Prince Harry, with Archie’s birth certificate now making the rounds online.
Prince Harry’s real name—yes, it’s not actually Harry.
In case you need a refresher, the eldest of the Sussex children, born on May 6, 2019, was officially named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. He and his sister, Lilibet, received their titles before their grandfather, King Charles, took the throne in 2022.
But here’s where things get interesting. When father Harry signed the birth certificate—later obtained by Harper’s Bazaar—he didn’t sign as Prince Harry. Instead, he wrote: “His Royal Highness Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex.”
Henry? Yep, you read that right.
It turns out that in English tradition, Henry has long been shortened to Harry. Even Henry VIII—the infamous king with a penchant for beheading—was casually called Harry by those close to him.
That said, Prince Harry himself once admitted he has no idea why his parents gave him a different name in the first place.
The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle. pic.twitter.com/zdaHR4mcY6
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) November 27, 2017
During a past conversation with a child named Henry at the WellChild Awards, he shared—according to Entertainment Tonight: “My name is Henry as well. But everyone calls me Harry.”
He then confessed: “I have no idea why.”
The same name was officially used when his engagement to Meghan was announced in November 2017.
At the time, the palace released a statement that read: “His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales and Ms. Meghan Markle Are Engaged to Be Married.”