Mountbatten-Windsor
Under an ambiguously-worded
Order-in-Council issued in
1960, the name
Mountbatten-Windsor is the personal
surname of the descendants of Queen
Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. It differs from the official name of the
British Royal Family or
Royal House, which remains
Windsor. The change of surname does not apply to members of the
royal family who are not descended from the Queen. The Order specifically applies the surname to those descendants of the Queen
not holding Royal styles and titles but in practice it is used by
all the British Royal Family descended from Queen Elizabeth II as their surname, as shown at the marriages of the
Prince of Wales and the
Princess Royal, when both used
Mountbatten-Windsor in the
banns issued announcing their marriages.
Holders of the surname Mountbatten-Windsor
The following people either hold or have held, under the above common interpretation, the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. They are listed in the order of succession to the Crown.
Of course, few of these people actually use this surname, owing to the styles that are used for members of the Royal Family. For example, when the Duke of York was in the Navy, he was referred to as Lieutenant His Royal Highness, the Prince Andrew before he became the Duke of York, and Lieutenant His Royal Highness, the Duke of York afterwards - but not Lieutenant Mountbatten-Windsor. While Mountbatten-Windsor was entered into the marriage register for Prince Andrew and Princess Anne, the Prince of Wales was entered as simply "The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George".
Reference
- Buckingham Palace and St. James's Palace were consulted for this article.