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Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis Have a New Last Name

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis Have a New Last Name

There's been a lot of royal family news in the past two weeks—an understatement!—but something that slipped under the radar is that three royal kids have new names now: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are no longer using the last name "Cambridge."

Rather, since King Charles made their parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the kids will use the last name "Wales." As heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales is not a title that William automatically inherited.

Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images
Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images

The change was noted in the Order of Service released by Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth's funeral on Monday, when George and Charlotte were listed as "Prince George of Wales" and "Princess Charlotte of Wales," respectively.

When they served in the military, both Prince William and Prince Harry used the last name Wales; William was known as Lieutenant Wales and Harry was Captain Wales. When they married, they were granted new titles—Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, respectively—so their last names changed.

Yet, while William's kids used the surname Cambridge (and now Wales), Harry's kids don't use Sussex. Per the royal family's website, "The Queen's descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor." This is why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's kids use the last name Mountbatten-Windsor—they are not (currently) styled with Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess.

Photo credit: JONATHAN BRADY - Getty Images
Photo credit: JONATHAN BRADY - Getty Images

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis started school just one day before the death of Queen Elizabeth, and two days before their grandfather King Charles granted the Wales titles to their parents—this means they were George Cambridge, Charlotte Cambridge, and Louis Cambridge for two days at school, and now they are George Wales, Charlotte Wales, and Louis Wales.

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