Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex
Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex visit the Tomorrow's People Social Enterprises at St Anselm's Church, Kennington on the Countess's 50th birthday on January 20, 2015 in London. Getty Images/Max Mumby

Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, reportedly didn’t want their children to inherit Prince Philip’s surname. But when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had their first child, they decided to give Archie the Mountbatten-Windsor moniker.

After the Duchess of Sussex gave birth on May 6, royal expert Penny Junor said that he thinks Prince Philip would be thrilled with the royal couple’s decision to use Mountbatten-Windsor.

“Archie is a lovely name, but the fact is that they’ve chosen to call him Mountbatten-Windsor. Prince Philip was never allowed to call his children by his own surname,” Junor said (via Express).

But when Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn were born, the Earl of Wessex and the Countess of Wessex only gave their children the Windsor surname. Lady Louise and James have a similar position with Archie in the royal family since all three are not called HRH.

Prince Edward himself has never used the Mountbatten-Windsor surname. When he put up his own production company, he became known as Prince Edward Windsor. In a television documentary, a show was also titled as “Edward on Edward.”

Journalist and historian Andy Beckett explained why Prince Edward seemed to favor Windsor over Mountbatten.

“It was a subject that seemed close to Edward’s heart. Besides being related to the Duke of Windsor, he shared the same ambiguous status as a much-criticized member of the royal family… And since 1995, when Prince Edward has started calling himself Edward Windsor on his ardent business card, he had publicly shared the Duke’s last name,” she said.

According to Beckett, Prince Edward also became immersed in reading his subject’s private correspondence that he began signing documents with a copy of the Duke of Windsor’s signature.

Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may have opted to give the Mountbatten surname to their son to pay tribute to the 98-year-old retired royal. Prince Harry is also believed to have a close relationship with his grandfather.

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