Queen Elizabeth Influenced By This Person To Not Give Their Kids Philip’s Surname

Queen Elizabeth was previously blamed for hurting Prince Philip’s feelings after she refused to give their two oldest children her husband’s surname.

Years ago, Prince Charles and Princess Anne only used the surname Windsor. It was only after Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were born that the royal siblings’ family name became Mountbatten-Windsor.

And it has now been revealed that Her Majesty isn’t entirely to be blamed for the decision. While speaking with The Telegraph, royal author Hugo Vickers said that the monarch’s former private secretary, Sir Alan Lascelles, convinced the monarch to not give her two children the Duke of Edinburgh’s surname.

Back in the day, the late private secretary described the dad of four as rough and uneducated. This means that giving Prince Charles and Princess Anne the same surname as their father would just strengthen the negative connection that they have with him.

Other than influencing the Queen’s decision with her children’s surname, Lascelles also played an important role in helping Her Majesty out during the early years of her reign.

Lascelles was regarded as one of the best private secretaries to have ever been employed by the royal family that’s why everyone wanted to work with him. Prior to the Queen’s reign, Lascelles served as an assistant private secretary to King George V.

Her Majesty’s late dad, King George VI, also chose Lascelles to be his private secretary. And after King George VI’s death, Lascelles guided the Queen.

Following his retirement at the age of 66, Her Majesty offered her first private secretary a hereditary peerage in the House of Lords, but he declined it. Lascelles opted to take an appointment as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.

And in 2006, Lascelles’ diary detailing his time as a private secretary to some members of the royal family was released. Lascelles passed away on Aug. 10, 1981, at the age of 94.