Princes Charles, William, Harry’s Surname Wasn’t Supposed To Be Windsor But This

Prince Harry, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles — Prince Harry made a shocking joke about Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Prince Charles that gave her aide the “shock of his life.” Pictured: Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Charles, Princess Eugenie, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Prince Harry look on from the balcony during during Trooping the Colour - Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Parade, at The Royal Horseguards on June 14, 2014 in London. Getty Images/Chris Jackson

Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry’s surname wasn’t supposed to be Windsor. However, the royals decided to use the family name because they all belonged to the House of Windsor.

According to Express, King George V decided to change his surname to Windsor during World War I. Prior to this, the members of the royal family used German family names.

Before changing his surname to Windsor, the royals used the surname Wettin. And before belonging to the House of Windsor, the belonged to Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was the name of the royal dynasty because Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, was the prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Queen Victoria, on the other hand, was from the House of Hanover. But since women couldn’t inherit the throne of Hanover, the Queen became the last Hanoverian monarch to ever sit on the throne.

The House of Wettin is reportedly one of the oldest dynasties in Europe. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is a branch of the House of Wettin.

Meanwhile, there’s another interesting fact about the Windsor surname. After Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip tied the knot, Her Majesty decided to give her two eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, the surname Windsor.

At that time, the Duke of Edinburgh complained incessantly about feeling as though he’s just an amoeba. This is because Prince Philip wasn’t allowed to pass on his surname, Mountbatten, to his two children.

It took Prince Philip and the Queen an entire decade before they reached an agreement. After Prince Andrew was born, the monarch finally agreed to give her children the surname Mountbatten.

However, the Queen still refused to drop her Windsor surname. As such, her children used Mountbatten-Windsor when they were younger.

But after they tied the knot, Prince Charles used the surname Wales, and this was also the surname that he passed on to Prince William and Prince Harry before they got married. Now, their surnames as Cambridge and Sussex, respectively.