Royal Family News
House and Family of Windsor: The Tradition of Royal Naming
The tradition of naming in the British Royal family is steeped in history, with each member having a unique title and name.
The Queen, her children, and some of her grandchildren, including Prince William and Prince Harry, are known as the House and Family of Windsor.
However, at school, both Harry and William answered to the name Harry Wales and William Wales, and this continued during their service in the British Armed Forces.
The reason for the name change is not due to public persona, but because their father Prince Charles is the Prince of Wales, and it serves as a homage to Charles when the title Prince is not necessary.
It's not just the princes who have alternative names.
Prince George V, is not referred to as His Royal Highness but as George Cambridge by his teachers and peers, according to school records at Thomas's in Battersea.
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It is believed that Meghan Markle and Harry, when they have children, will also follow this tradition.
Their children are likely to use the Sussex moniker when they start school as their parents are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
When Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson married, the Queen made them the Duke and Duchess of York, the same title that once belonged to the Queen's own father before he became King George VI.
Their two daughters are known as Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York.
In 1960, Her Majesty decreed that she and her children continue to be known as the House and Family of Windsor, as would any descendants in line to the throne who enjoy the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince or Princess.
Descendants who do not have that style and title would bear the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, with Mountbatten coming from Prince Philip's family, while Windsor has been the Royal Family name since 1917, when it was changed from the German, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
They changed their name in response to anti-German sentiment following the First World War.
The Queen's granddaughter Princess Eugenie also has a special meaning behind her full name, which has been revealed.
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