Harry and Meghan adopt Sussex title as surname for children

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have rebranded their website to ‘unify’ their family after their two children dropped Mountbatten-Windsor as a surname and started using Sussex.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have rebranded their website to “unify” their family after their children have started using the Sussex title as a surname.

A family source said that since the coronation, rather than being known as the Mountbatten-Windsors, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, have been known as Archie and Lilibet Sussex - in the same way that their father was called Captain Wales when he was in the army.

On Monday Harry and Meghan released Sussex.com, a rebranded website that is understood to have taken a year to build. It was criticised, however, for using the couple’s coat of arms.

Insiders said that the aim of the rebrand was to bring all their projects - and both their children - under the same umbrella. Their foundation and production company are called Archewell, inspired by their son’s name. The new website is thought to be intended to be inclusive of both children.

Harry and Meghan pose for their Christmas card in 2021 with Archie and Lilibet.

The couple are said to be keen not to show favouritism towards Archie. In his autobiography, Spare, Harry described a childhood of being treated as the less-important “spare to the heir”, his elder brother the Prince of Wales.

A source said: “The reality behind the new site is very simple - it’s a hub for the work the Sussexes do and it reflects the fact the family have, since the King’s coronation, the same surname for the first time. That’s a big deal for any family. It represents their unification and it’s a proud moment.”

The website, created by Article, a Canadian agency, is operated by the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and is described as a “one-stop shop” for all their activities. It uses the coat of arms that Meghan was issued with when she married into the royal family.

Some reports have questioned the legitimacy of the Sussexes using the coat of arms on their website.

An insider said: “It isn’t any sort of problem for the rest of the royal family. Harry is more concerned about the health and wellbeing of the King and Kate, and thinks that is where the focus should be. There certainly hasn’t been any problem raised about the use of a coat of arms by anyone at the royal household - why would they object when it’s perfectly normal and is pretty routine?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pay tribute to son, Archie, on his second birthday. Picture: Instagram

“Lots of people are familiar with the Duchy of Cornwall products in the shops and there are about 800 companies using the royal warrant coat of arms for commercial reasons.

“Sussex.com is just an umbrella for good causes like [Harry’s organisations] Sentebale, Invictus and Travalyst and separates them out from the non-profit Archewell foundation and Archewell Productions, which is a profit-for-good company. There’s no use of the word ‘royal’ on the site for a good reason - to ensure there could be no conflict with anyone’s wishes.”

Yesterday (Wednesday) Harry and Meghan visited Whistler, the Canadian ski resort north of Vancouver, to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games.

Meghan has also signed a podcast deal with Lemonada Media after parting ways with Spotify. The duchess, who has described herself as a “feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity”, said that she was “overjoyed” to be joining the network, founded by two women. The company says it aims to “make life suck less, one podcast at a time”.

Harry had a 30-minute meeting with his father at Clarence House last week before the King flew to Sandringham to continue his recovery from cancer treatment.

The Times