What Is The Last Name Of The British Royal Family

Before 1917 the british royal family had no last name at all.

Members of the royal family can be known both by the name of the royal house and by a surname which are not always the same. Prince william and duchess kate often use the surname cambridge for their family and prince harry has often used wales as his surname. And often they do not use a surname at all. As he s the crown s royal consort the spouse of a reigning monarch her last name comes last.

The british royal family comprises queen elizabeth ii and her close relations. Before 1917 members of the british royal family had no surname but only the name of the house or dynasty to which they belonged. The official surname of the royal family is windsor which was decreed by king george v in 1917 however queen elizabeth made a small amendment when she became monarch. It doesn t stop there though.

The most recent development in the royal surname drama was queen elizabeth ii and prince philip s decision to make everything just a tad more confusing. Even now the british royal family belongs to the house of windsor making it their official family surname. That means meghan markle s name now that she s married is meghan mountbatten windsor correct. Those who at the time are entitled to the style his or her royal highness hrh and any styled his or her majesty hm are normally considered members including those so styled before the beginning of the.

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Keystone getty images today the last name of the british royal family remains windsor. Here are the full names and full titles of key members of the. However royals who are descended from queen elizabeth ii through the male line use the hyphenated surname. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the british royal family.

That year king george v decreed that the family surname would be windsor. The name windsor is the royal family s house name dynasty name and is also the surname for male line descendants of queen victoria and prince albert who are british subjects and who are not princes or princess of the united kingdom. By royal proclamation in 1917 king george v 5th changed family name to the english windsor. Before that his birth name was the german saxe coburg and gotha the name of a german duchy providence a minor family branch of the the house of wettin.