Prince George (opens in new tab), Princess Charlotte (opens in new tab) and Prince Louis (opens in new tab) will now use new last names due to their parents’, Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) and Prince William’s (opens in new tab), new titles.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are no longer using the last name “Cambridge.” Amidst all the change the youngsters are currently experiencing; the loss of their beloved gan-gan, moving out of their family home, starting new schools and moving up in the royal line of succession (opens in new tab), they must now also get used to having new surnames.
The children’s surname of Cambridge was used to refer to their parents’, Kate Middleton and Prince William’s, previous titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge that were bestowed upon them in 2011 after their marriage (opens in new tab).
Since King Charles proceeded to the throne (opens in new tab) following the death of the Queen (opens in new tab) on the 8th of September 2022, he passed down his previous title to his heir, Prince William, making him and his wife, Kate Middleton, the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The Prince of Wales is not a title that is automatically inherited by the heir, instead, in order for Prince William to be granted the honour, King Charles III bestowed it upon him during his first speech as monarch.
(Image credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Following the title change, the children will now use the last name “Wales.”
The name change was confirmed in the Order of Service released by Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s funeral (opens in new tab), where George and Charlotte were listed as Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales.
The changing of surnames in accordance with titles is a long-standing tradition within the royal family. Both Prince William and Prince Harry used the surname Wales when they served in the military, showing that their father, Charles, was then the Prince of Wales.
William was known as Lieutenant Wales and Harry was Captain Wales. When Kate and William got married in 2011 (opens in new tab) and when Harry and Meghan Markle got married in 2018 (opens in new tab), the Wales brothers were granted the new titles of Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, respectively – so their last names too changed to Cambridge and Sussex.
Following William and Kate’s title change, their children will now use the last name “Wales.”
The name change was confirmed in the Order of Service released by Buckingham Palace (opens in new tab) for the Queen’s funeral, where George and Charlotte were listed as Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales.
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