![Why Harry and Meghan decided to change their children’s names after they were born](https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt8bbf16c2d7a209e5/blt326fc5d24d6aad7e/6698f15e7ea7f1ce2e798814/harry-meghan-change-children-name.png)
It feels like a lifetime since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their move to the US out of the royal family spotlight to raise their children in the sunshine - and their choice to change the kids' names after their birth has been explained.
To take you down memory lane, Meghan and Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, first started dating in 2016 and went public with their romance that same year.
Not wasting any time, the besotted couple announced their engagement in November 2017 and were married in a televised wedding within St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in 2018.
Meghan’s first pregnancy was announced in November 2018, with their son, Archie, arriving in 2019.
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Meghan being a woman of colour signalled a time of great hope and progression in the royal family, but controversy followed with the two stepping back from their duties as senior royals in 2020.
Following the 2021 birth of their daughter, Lilibet, the pair took part in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in which Meghan claimed a member of the royal household made comments about how dark Archie's skin would be. She also claimed her treatment had a severe affect on her mental health.
They told their full story in their own words with the release of Netflix's documentary Harry & Meghan in 2022.
![Meghan Markle and Prince Harry first started dating in 2016. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for W+P)](https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt8bbf16c2d7a209e5/blt955588ffc5fba2bc/6697a0047812093947729568/GettyImages-2161693894.jpg)
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Meghan clearly held many other members of the household in incredibly high esteem - her daughter’s name, Lilibet, is a nickname for Elizabeth, the name of the late Queen.
With the two now living and working in LA, they have managed to shun a lot of the negative attention and press - but fans still love learning every detail about the family.
It surprised some that Meghan and Harry changed the last names of their children - but it’s been revealed just why they did it.
![The pair stepped back from their senior roles within the royal family in 2020.(Matt Dunham - WPA Pool/Getty Images)](https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt8bbf16c2d7a209e5/bltcc148c4942aa66f8/6697a085d99178e93c75b8a2/GettyImages-1241072600.jpg)
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The children switched from Mountbatten-Windsor to Sussex.
It has been reported that the reason for this leads back to the coronation of King Charles on 6 May, 2023.
Five-year-old Archie and three-year-old Lilibet were moved up in the line of succession following the coronation, and the little ones were bestowed with the new titles of Prince and Princess of Sussex.
![Meghan, Harry and baby Archie. (Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage)](https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt8bbf16c2d7a209e5/blt682d0ed8619ac07e/6697b33ef964614837bb870a/GettyImages-1177044844.jpg)
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Prior to this, they were officially Master Archie and Miss Lilibet.
A lesser-known fact is that the British custom for names of princes and princesses is that they adopt their titles or their parents’s titles as surnames.
As an example, at school, both Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William, had the titles of William Wales and Harry Wales to reflect their parents’ status of Prince and Princess of Wales.
So, Harry and Meghan have opted to follow tradition by adapting the surnames of their children.
Topics: Royal Family, Meghan Markle, Prince William