An expert has shed light on why Meghan Markle has decided to change her surname after she recently shared that she and her children now go by a different one.
Meghan, 43, who has two children—Archie, five, and Lilibet, three—with Prince Harry, gave a rare glimpse into her family life in her new Netflix lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, which premiered this week.
In the second episode, she revealed that she now uses a new surname.
While chatting with her friend Mindy Kaling about their favorite takeout meals, Meghan reminisced about eating a lot of fast food growing up.
“I don’t think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack In The Box and loves it,” Mindy said.
But Meghan quickly shifted the conversation, commenting on how unusual it felt to hear her full name.
“It’s so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know I’m Sussex now.
“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.’”
Mindy responded warmly, saying, “Well, now I know and I love it.”
After Meghan’s recent remarks, a royal expert has shed light on why she continues to use her Duchess of Sussex title, despite stepping away from royal duties.
Pauline MacLaran, co-author of Royal Fever, explained to Express.co.uk: “Meghan has continued to use her royal title since returning to the US and this is what draws an audience to her so it’s pretty essential in my view for her brand.
“Fans love the transformative story that underpins her marriage to Harry, the Cinderella story of getting her Prince. So I think it’s pretty important that she uses her royal title and, of course, she is allowed to do this as she is married to the Duke who is not going to stop using his title anytime soon!
“To maintain her brand, I think it’s fairly essential that she continues to call herself the Duchess of Sussex. By using this association, her credentials to be promoting an aspirational lifestyle are validated, as is her good taste and so forth.”
Queen Elizabeth granted Prince Harry and Meghan the Sussex title when they married in 2018.
In a recent interview with People, Meghan reflected on the deeper meaning behind the name.
“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 shared.
“I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”