Royal fans are outraged by Meghan Markle’s latest statement after she insisted her surname is “Sussex,” despite having only visited the English county once and not officially having a last name as a member of the Royal Family.
The controversy arose during the second episode of her Netflix cooking show, With Love, Meghan, released on Tuesday, where she corrected her friend, actress Mindy Kaling.
During the episode, Meghan and Kaling shared a casual conversation while making cucumber sandwiches, reminiscing about their childhoods and bonding over their love of fast food. Meghan recalled frequenting places like Pollo Loco, Taco Bell, and Jack In The Box as a child.
However, Kaling inadvertently struck a nerve when she joked, “I don’t think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack In The Box and loves it.”
Attempting to keep her composure, Meghan forced a smile and quickly corrected her, saying, “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now.”
As the conversation grew slightly tense, Meghan elaborated: “You have kids, and you go, ‘No, I share my name with my children.’ I didn’t realize how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to say, ‘This is OUR family name. Our little family name.’”
Caught off guard, Kaling awkwardly replied, “Well, now I know, and I love it.”
Meghan’s insistence on using “Sussex” as a surname has sparked debate among royal watchers, many of whom question her right to adopt the name given the couple’s limited ties to the county.
One royal enthusiast pointed out: “Her name is NOT Meghan Sussex. Her name is technically Rachel Mountbatten-Windsor. Sussex is a county in England and part of a courtesy title—NOT her last name.”
Another added: “Meghan Markle married Henry Mountbatten-Windsor, not Harry Sussex! She’s completely delusional.”
A third person was taken aback by how Meghan corrected her friend: “Who criticizes a guest like that? And her last name is not Sussex. Wouldn’t it be Mountbatten-Windsor?”
A fourth remarked: “‘Duchess of Sussex’ is a courtesy title she holds only through marriage. It is not her surname, and I’m quite sure she doesn’t have ‘Meghan Sussex’ on her California driver’s license. Legally, her last name should be Mountbatten-Windsor.”
Despite only visiting Sussex once since receiving the Duke and Duchess titles in 2018, Meghan has frequently referenced “Sussex” as a meaningful part of her and Harry’s story.
Speaking to People magazine before her show’s launch, Meghan emphasized how important the name has become, particularly since having children.
“It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t realized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children,” she said. “I love that Archie, Lili, H, and I all have that together. It means a lot to me.”
Meghan, who dropped her maiden name Markle after marrying Prince Harry, explained that members of the Royal Family traditionally use their titles instead of surnames. This is why her official title is “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.”
However, the issue of royal titles remains contentious, especially following Meghan and Harry’s departure from royal duties and relocation to California, with some calling for the couple’s titles to be revoked.
Prince William and Princess Kate followed a similar tradition with their children—George, Charlotte, and Louis all used the surname “Cambridge” at school before Queen Elizabeth II passed away. Likewise, both William and Harry used “Wales” as their surname during school, military service, and their time in the RAF, in line with their parents’ titles at the time.
Meghan has described her new eight-part Netflix series as a journey of self-discovery, stating that it has helped her “find herself” again.
Despite having a massive two-million-strong following on social media, she insisted she sees herself as a “female founder” and “entrepreneur” rather than an influencer.
The series was filmed inside an $8 million (£5 million) mansion located just two miles from the Sussexes’ Montecito home.