Meghan Markle has revealed her complete legal name just a few months after introducing her new surname.
The Duchess of Sussex, whose new season of her show With Love, Meghan premiered on Netflix today (August 26), spoke on YouTube’s The Circle with Emily Chang, where she revealed more about royal life.
Meghan candidly reviewed how she once felt ‘inauthentic’, saying: “It was different several years ago when I couldn’t be as vocal and I had to wear nude pantyhose (tights) all the time. Let’s be honest, that was not very myself.
“I hadn’t seen pantyhose since movies in the 80s when they came in the little egg. That felt a little bit inauthentic. And that’s a silly example.”
The mother-of-two, who tied the knot with Prince Harry back in 2018, added: “But it is an example of when you’re able to dress the way you want to dress and you are able to say the things you want to say that are true and be able to show up in a space that is really organically and authentically, that’s being comfortable in your own skin.
“Of course, I have had different chapters in my life. But right now I don’t feel I need to prove anything.”
During the conversation, the host also asked Meghan about her name, which was a hot topic among fans and critics earlier this year when she revealed the personal significance of the family of four all having the same surname.
In an episode of the debut series With Love, Meghan, she spoke with her friend Mindy Kaling about her surname decision.
“I don’t think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack In The Box and loves it,” Mindy said in response to an admission Meghan made about eating the takeout food.
Meghan found it ‘funny’ that Mindy addressed her as ‘Meghan Markle’.
“It’s so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know I’m Sussex now,” she explained. “You have kids and you go ‘No, I share my name with my children’.
“I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me but it just means so much to go ‘This is OUR family name. Our little family name.’”
“Well, when I got married, I changed my name. But it is a complicated one for people to understand because a last name is not typical in that construct,” she explained, prompting host Emily to press if ‘Sussex’ really was her last name.
Putting an end to the online chatter once and for all, the As Ever founder announced: “It’s not, but it’s used loosely or roughly rather. It sounds so silly to say and I get it ‘cos I’m American and then I went there and I started to understand, then you come back and as an American, you go ‘I’m so confused’.
“It’s a dukedom – and that’s the truth of it. But at the end of the day, yes, my legal name is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, but Sussex works for us as our family name and it is the name we share with our children. But yes, since we’ve been married that’s what I’ve been called.”
