Why it looks like Meghan Markle is changing her name for good

It seems that Meghan Markle could be preparing to drop her famous surname for good because of one key sign.

• Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) appears to be changing her name for good because of this key clue.
• The Duchess of Sussex, who married Prince Harry in 2018 (opens in new tab), looks set to leave her surname Markle behind.
• This royal news (opens in new tab) comes after it was revealed that the Queen had suffered the death of a close royal family member (opens in new tab).

The Duchess of Sussex, who has just launched a Spotify podcast (opens in new tab) with Prince Harry called Archewell Audio, appears to have ditched her family surname as she is listed differently in the description of the podcast.

Instead the royal goes by just her first name Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex on Spotify after she and the Duke of Sussex signed a multi-million pound deal with the US streaming service to both create and host podcasts.

Anyone who has listened to the podcast would have read in the about section, which says, 'Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, present Archewell Audio, only on Spotify. Follow for updates.'

And before the Sussexes, who have 19-month-old son Archie, got married in 2018 (opens in new tab), royal expert Marlene Koenig predicted that she would drop her surname.

Speaking to Town and Country magazine at the time, Marlene said, "Once married, Meghan will sign as Meghan, no last name. Just as Harry signs as Harry. Royals use only a first name."

And it looks like she's right - even though it's taken almost three years.

But royals are permitted to - and do use the name 'Windsor' or 'Mountbatten-Windsor', as was confirmed by The Queen after her accession in 1952.

Marlene continued, "This was used by Anne, Andrew, and Edward when they married. Charles had no surname on his registrar. We do not know what William used because unlike every other royal, he chose not to make it public."