Prince Harry deepens family rift by reportedly considering name change: expert

Prince Harry reportedly made a move that has deepened his ongoing rift with his family.

The Duke of Sussex spoke to his uncle, Earl Charles Spencer, about the idea of taking his late mother Princess Diana’s surname for his family, People magazine reported. 

According to The Mail on Sunday, the 40-year-old was considering adopting his mother’s last name, which would have meant abandoning the surname used by his children: Mountbatten-Windsor.

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Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for the prince and the earl for comment.

"Trying to change his surname has an air of revenge," British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard claimed to Fox News Digital. 

"Such a hurtful and vindictive move to King Charles," she claimed. "It highlights Prince Harry’s little to no regard for his family. A huge amount of bitterness and frustration bubbling away in Harry could have led to him feeling the Spencer name would help grow his royal court."

"For Harry to consider doing this, he must still feel very embittered," royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital. "King Charles will regard this with great sadness… What will Harry think up next?"

The Mail on Sunday reported that Harry discussed the idea of the name change with the 9th Earl Spencer, who is Diana’s younger brother, during a visit to the U.K.

"They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step," a friend of Harry’s told the outlet.

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"Once again, Prince Harry has managed to make yet another deeply divisive and emotionally charged move, further fracturing his already tenuous relationship with the royal family," British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital.

"The overwhelming advice from within his own family, particularly from his Uncle Earl Spencer, is to abandon the ludicrous idea due to its legal and emotional consequences," she claimed. "Even his inquiry highlights the enduring complexities of Harry’s relationship with his royal roots… It further thwarts any future reconciliation."

Fordwich claimed that the royals are "hurt and dismayed" by this latest revelation, "causing additional damage to the already strained family relations."

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"In addition, it’s viewed as a direct insult to his father, King Charles III, as well as his extended royal family," Fordwich claimed. "Ironically, Harry was close to Prince Philip, who fought for the historical significance of the Mountbatten-Windsor name for his descendants. So it is a direct insult to him."

People magazine reported that Harry’s two children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, who turns 4 on June 4, have Mountbatten-Windsor as their last names on their birth certificates. However, the family now uses Sussex as their last name, just like how Harry was known as "Harry Wales" during his childhood when his parents held the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales. It’s a tradition within the royal family for children to take their parents’ titles as a surname.

Mountbatten-Windsor is the British royal family’s official surname. The outlet noted that dropping the surname would be viewed as a slight to the king, who "cherishes the Mountbatten name just as his father did."

The Mountbatten name was adopted by the Greek-born Philip when he became a British citizen in 1947 and joined the Royal Navy. Windsor was adopted by King George V as the British royal surname in 1917. People reported that in 1960, Queen Elizabeth II and Philip determined that Mountbatten-Windsor would be the surname for their direct descendants.

Fordwich claimed that in Harry’s eyes, using Spencer would be honoring his mother, Princess Diana, and "distancing himself from the rest of the royal institution he feels alienated from."

"There is also some speculation that Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, wants their children to be more closely associated with Diana’s legacy, especially their daughter, Princess Lilibet, whose full name is Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor," said Fordwich.

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Still, Fordwich noted that "family relations remain immensely strained," and this latest report would only hurt the king.

"King Charles III is hesitant to speak with Harry, and Prince William is disgusted that he keeps referencing their mother," Fordwich claimed. "Trust and communication are currently at an all-time low. Any hope of rapprochement is now said to be ‘in tatters,’ particularly given Harry’s wish to change his surname, which is viewed as a final break from his royal roots."

Harry’s troubled relationship with his family and the U.K. establishment has played out in public for years – in books, interviews, TV programs and the courts.

Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepped back as senior royals in 2020, citing the unbearable intrusions of the British press and a lack of support from the palace. That same year, they moved to California, where they are raising their two children.

Since the couple’s royal exit, they have aired their grievances and made blistering allegations against the royal family. Harry’s explosive 2023 memoir, "Spare," was stuffed with private details and embarrassing revelations.

Harry’s rift with his family burst into the open once more with a raw interview he gave to the BBC in May after losing a court case over his security. In a long and at times emotional conversation, Harry said he wanted reconciliation. He admitted that his father, who is battling an undisclosed form of cancer, won’t speak to him.

Harry’s pals previously told People magazine that the king, 76, won’t respond to Harry’s phone calls and letters. Royal experts also claimed to Fox News Digital that Harry’s older brother, William, who is heir to the British throne, refuses to speak with him.

"Spencer may be an aristocratic name famously shared by Prince Harry's late mother," said Chard. "However, if Harry hoped to use the surname Spencer to rehabilitate his image, he needs to rethink the bonkers possibility."

"Prince Harry is beginning to resemble the hapless ‘Frank Spencer,’ the fictional character in the old British sitcom ‘Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em," she added.

The series, which aired from 1973 to 1978, follows the misadventures of accident-prone Spencer, who "fails to navigate the simplest tasks of daily life, while also trying to look after his wife and baby."

Royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital he wasn’t surprised that Harry considered changing his surname to Spencer. He pointed out that the prince has a closer connection to his late mother’s family.

"Prince Harry, at the time of this alleged conversation, was at a very low ebb," Turner explained. "He found tremendous support from Earl Spencer and Diana’s two sisters, who rallied around [him]… The Spencer name is always a potential path for the beleaguered couple and their children. But at this stage, it’s not on the horizon."

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"The royal family and Harry are still seemingly at war with each other," Turner added.

Chard claimed that Harry could have plenty to gain from using the Spencer surname.

"No doubt Prince Harry feels reinventing himself keeps him relevant," she claimed. "The world still has a love affair with the late Princess Diana. Harry and Meghan could take a cash grab of Princess Diana’s legacy. [However], tarnishing Princess Diana’s legacy would leave a bitter taste in the public’s mouths."

Meghan previously told People magazine that taking the Sussex name has a deep meaning for her family.

"It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children," the 43-year-old told the outlet. "I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me."