What Will Meghan Markle’s New Name Be Once She Marries Prince Harry?

Now that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are officially engaged and their wedding will be held sometime in the spring, the next big question is what will be Meghan’s new name after the couple is married? Already, royal experts have been weighing in on the probabilities of what her new name and title will be, per a report from the Telegraph. What do they have to say?

Hours after Clarence House made the long-awaited announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged to be married, there have been predictions on what the couple will be called. The consensus of most royal experts is that the couple is expected to take on the title of Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

According to Charles Kidd, editor of Debrett’s Peerage & Baronetage, explains that it is fairly easy to determine what titles are available to the couple, as so many are currently taken.

“They’re quite limited in the titles that are available. The Duke of Sussex is the front-runner without any doubt.”

What are the other options for suspended or available titles? The titles that are currently available include “the dukedoms of Clarence, Connaught, Windsor, Albany, and Cumberland and Teviotdale.”

According to The Telegraph, “by tradition” male members of the royal family “receive a title from the monarch on their wedding day.”

For example, on the day that Prince William married Kate Middleton, the Queen, William’s “granny,” officially gave them the title of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

So, after she is married, Rachel Meghan Markle will become HRH (Her Royal Highness), the Duchess of Sussex. In fact, she will become the very first Duchess of Sussex.

The only previous Duke of Sussex married twice, yet as neither of his marriages was approved by his father, King George III, there was never a “Duchess of Sussex.” Because neither marriage was approved, the Duke’s children could not continue on with the title.

Now the question is will she become Duchess Rachel, her real name, or will she continue to formally use her middle name, Meghan, the name that is most associated with her, as her “official” name?

“Kate” Middleton, who was previously known by her nickname, not her given name, reverted to her real first name “Catherine” when she became engaged to Prince William.

Meghan Markle is using her full middle name, not any sort of nickname. Will she continue to keep that first name?

According to The Telegraph, because the Palace engagement announcement identified the Suits actress as “Meghan Markle,” she will continue to be called Meghan after she is married to Prince Harry.

There is also the question of whether Prince Harry will end up using his real name in his title. He was born Prince Henry Charles Albert David, yet again, he has been formally identified as Prince Harry of Wales. He will not be called Henry.

In the future, the newly engaged couple may also get other names. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Kate Middleton and Prince William, better known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are also known as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn in Scotland and Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland.

[Featured Image by Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Images]