Ch-Ch-Changes! The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are full of them. On top of leaving the royal family and moving across the pond to the States, now Prince Harry dropped his surname, Mountbatten Windsor, according to some recently filed travel documents. Already, many are interpreting this as just the latest gesture by the 35-year-old to create distance between him and the royal family back home in the U.K.
Some noticed the discrepancy when documents filed for an eco-tourism firm, Travalyst, were obtained by news outlets like The Daily Mail. In these documents, it appears that Prince Harry’s name is officially listed as “Prince Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex,” full stop. His royal last name, Mountbatten-Windsor, is nowhere to be seen on the files—but that doesn’t mean he’s done away with the name altogether. (In fact, his son, Baby Archie, retains the last name for now).
As far as we know, the omission could have been an issue of spacing—”Mountbatten-Windsor” isn’t exactly a short surname. It’s also worth noting that Prince Harry often omitted the last name during his military years, so this shift isn’t *exactly* something new. Though many followers of the Duke and Duchess are already reading into the recent report, with some convinced that it’s the latest effort of independence among their post-royal plans.
What we do know for sure, however, is why Prince Harry was filing documents for a tourism firm in the first place. No, the Duke is not trying to book his next vacation. In fact, Travalyst is a global initiative led by Harry himself—essentially the latest of his philanthropic efforts.
According to the firm’s website, the organization was launched by the Duke of Sussex alongside well-known travel sites, such as Booking.com, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor, and Visa. Together, with Harry’s support, they plan to encourage environmentally conscious travel options and allover eco-responsibility.
“We want to be the driving force that paves a new way to travel, helping everyone explore our world in a way that protects both people and places, and secures a positive future for destinations and local communities for generations to come,” reads their site.