Inside Prince Harry's secret talk with his uncle about irreversible decision

Prince Harry once contemplated giving up the royal surname Mountbatten-Windsor in favour of his late mother Diana’s name, Spencer,

The Mail on Sunday reported on June 1 that the Duke of Sussex even discussed the idea with his uncle, Earl Spencer, during a rare visit to the U.K. But he was ultimately advised against it.

“They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step,” a friend of Harry told the outlet. Legal hurdles reportedly made the switch nearly impossible.

Still, the very idea that Harry explored distancing himself from the royal family name speaks volumes about the continued strain within the monarchy. Such a move would have impacted his children’s names as well — Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet both use Mountbatten-Windsor.

Author Tom Bower claimed the name change would have further aligned Harry’s wife Meghan Markle with Princess Diana’s legacy: “Meghan decided her real object in life was to be Diana.”

Had the change gone through, their daughter would have been named Lilibet Diana Spencer instead of Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.

King Charles, who deeply values the Mountbatten name, likely would not have approved. Prince Philip adopted the surname after renouncing his Greek and Danish royal titles, and the Queen later declared their descendants would carry Mountbatten-Windsor.

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