The Surprising Secret Behind Princes William And Harry's Last Names Finally Revealed

<div><p>It's pretty common in the United Kingdom for children to take on their father's last name. It's also not unheard of that children might also share their mother's last name, but as usual, the Royals do things a little differently. </p><p>The British royal family doesn't necessarily have a single last name. Technically, it's Windsor, but that's actually only a recently new development. </p><p>Before 1917, the royals actually went by the territory they ruled or the Royal House of which they were a member. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_1050px.jpg 1050w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_1150px.jpg 1150w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_1250px.jpg 1250w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_1350px.jpg 1350w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_1450px.jpg 1450w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/landscape-1471353050-old-index_GH_content_1550px.jpg 1550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></figure></div><p>Queen Victoria's eldest son was actually known as Albert Edward Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Imagine learning to spell that one as a child.</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>Given that the country was in the middle of World War I, King Edward's son, George V's German-sounding last name needed to be changed. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/hbz-prince-philip-queen-elizabeth-1974-gettyimages-141771430_1.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Getty Images</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>So, he decided to name his family after Windsor Castle. <strong>Now, any descendants of Queen Victoria are known as Windsors.</strong></p><p>It gets even more confusing...</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/gettyimages-146294080.png" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/gettyimages-146294080_GH_content_550px.png 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>PHIL NOBLE - WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, decided to distinguish their descendants from the rest of the family by adding on Mountbatten to the Windsor surname. <strong>Her children and their children are Mountbatten-Windsors.</strong></p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/1-10.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/1-10_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/1-10_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/1-10_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/1-10_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/1-10_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Getty Images</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>And just because they can, the royals sometimes adopt other names as they see fit. That's why <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/90917/why-dont-royals-use-last-name">Princes Willam and Harry wore tags that bore the surname Wales</a> - an adoption of their father's designation as the Prince of Wales.</p><p>[h/t <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/90917/why-dont-royals-use-last-name">mental floss</a>]</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p></div>