Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis have a new last name

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published 25 September 2022

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will now use new last names due to their parents', Kate Middleton and Prince William's, new titles.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis will no longer use the last name "Cambridge", which previously referred to their parents' then titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
Now that Prince William and Kate Middleton have new titles, their children's surnames have changed
In other royal news, Kate Middleton's parenting at the Queen's funeral showed 'how confident and intuitive she is as a mother' according to a parenting expert

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are no longer using the last name "Cambridge." Amidst all the change the youngsters are currently experiencing; the loss of their beloved gan-gan, moving out of their family home, starting new schools and moving up in the royal line of succession, they must now also get used to having new surnames.

The children's surname of Cambridge was used to refer to their parents', Kate Middleton and Prince William's, previous titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge that were bestowed upon them in 2011 after their marriage.

Since King Charles proceeded to the throne following the death of the Queen on the 8th of September 2022, he passed down his previous title to his heir, Prince William, making him and his wife, Kate Middleton, the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The Prince of Wales is not a title that is automatically inherited by the heir, instead, in order for Prince William to be granted the honour, King Charles III bestowed it upon him during his first speech as monarch.

Following the title change, the children will now use the last name "Wales."

The name change was confirmed in the Order of Service released by Buckingham Palace for the Queen's funeral, where George and Charlotte were listed as Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales.

The changing of surnames in accordance with titles is a long-standing tradition within the royal family. Both Prince William and Prince Harry used the surname Wales when they served in the military, showing that their father, Charles, was then the Prince of Wales.

William was known as Lieutenant Wales and Harry was Captain Wales. When Kate and William got married in 2011 and when Harry and Meghan Markle got married in 2018, the Wales brothers were granted the new titles of Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, respectively - so their last names too changed to Cambridge and Sussex.

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Following William and Kate's title change, their children will now use the last name "Wales."

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Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.