Prince Harry Reassures The Queen He's Not Dropping His Royal Surname

published 16 April 2020

Over the weekend, news broke that Prince Harry had dropped his royal surname, Mountbatten-Windsor, in documents filed for his new eco-friendly travel initiative, Travalyst.
A source recently clarified to Us Weekly that, while Harry is choosing not to use his royal title or surname publicly, he's not legally changing his name.
The source also said that Harry has "reassured" the Queen that his decision to stop using his royal last name is "not a personal dig."

Prince Harry recently broke the royal-obsessive corners of the internet when news broke that he had ditched his royal surname in new documents for his eco-travel initiative, Travalyst.

If you missed it, he's a quick recap: Over the weekend, the Daily Mail reported on documents Harry filed to register Travalyst, which aims to "be the driving force that paves a new way to travel, helping everyone explore our world in a way that protects both people and places, and secures a positive future for destinations and local communities for generations to come," according to its official website.

In those documents, Harry is identified as "Prince Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex"—notably leaving out his royal surname, Mountbatten-Windsor.

A royal source has now clarified to Us Weekly, however, that Harry is not getting rid of his royal last name. Or, at least, that he's "not planning to officially drop his Mountbatten-Windsor title legally." Even so, the source says, he does not plan to actively use his royal title or surname.

"The bottom line is, he prefers to keep it casual and be known as 'Harry,'" the source said, adding that Harry has personally reached out to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and "reassured" her that the decision to publicly drop his royal surname is "not a personal dig."

Glad that's all sorted, right?

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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.