View source for Mountbatten-Windsor

{{short description|Family name}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Elizabeth II & Philip after Coronation.JPG|thumb|upright|alt=Elizabeth in crown and robes next to her husband in military uniform|Coronation portrait of Elizabeth II and Philip, {{nowrap|June 1953}}]]
[[File:Arms of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.svg|thumb|upright|Coat of arms of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]
[[File:Arms of Battenberg-Mountbatten.svg|thumb|upright|Coat of arms of the [[Mountbatten family|House of Battenberg]]]]
[[File:Badge of the House of Windsor.svg|thumb|upright|Badge of the [[House of Windsor]], featuring the Round Tower of [[Windsor Castle]]]]
'''Mountbatten-Windsor''' is the [[surname]] available to descendants of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]] and can be used by them whenever a surname is required. Generally, those that are entitled to, and use, the royal style ''HRH Prince'' or ''Princess'' have no need of a surname. An example of when a surname is needed is when they get married. ''Mountbatten-Windsor'' combines the British royal family's [[Dynasty|House]] name of [[House of Windsor|Windsor]] and Prince Philip's adopted surname of [[Mountbatten family|Mountbatten]]. Its use was authorised by a 1960 [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|Privy Council]] declaration.

==Origin==
''Mountbatten-Windsor'' was created by combining the royal family's [[Dynasty|House]] name of [[House of Windsor|Windsor]] and  [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]'s adopted surname of [[Mountbatten family|Mountbatten]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/prince-harry-meghan-announce-sons-archie-harrison-mountbatten/story?id=62804184|title= Prince Harry and Meghan announce their son's name: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor|last=Kindelan|first=Katie |date=8 May 2019 |website=ABC News |accessdate=2 April 2025}}</ref> A few years after the death of Lord Mountbatten the Windsor name became the official royal family name and the Battenbergs changed their name to Mountbatten.<ref>Anne Edwards. (1990). ''Royal sisters: Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.''  New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. p. 74. {{ISBN|0-688-07662-9}}.</ref> In 1960 the [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|Privy Council]] declared:<ref>{{cite news |title=The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/41948/supplement/1003 |access-date=26 December 2024 |work=The London Gazette |issue=41948 |date=5 February 1960}}</ref>
<blockquote>My Lords
Whereas on the 9th day of April 1952, I did declare in Council My Will and Pleasure that I and My children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that My descendants, other than female descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor:
And whereas I have given further consideration to the position of those of My descendants who will enjoy neither the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness, nor the titluar dignity of Prince and for whom therefore a surname will be necessary:
And whereas I have concluded that the Declaration made by Me on the 9th day of April 1952, should be varied in its application to such persons:
Now therefore I declare My Will and Pleasure that, while I and My Children shall continue to be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, My descendants other than descendants enjoying the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess and female descendants who marry and their descendants shall bear the name of Mountbatten-Windsor.</blockquote>
The Privy Council declaration made it so that Elizabeth's descendants with princely titles and male-line descendants who bear princely titles keep the name Windsor, pursuant to a declaration she made in a previous Privy Council meeting at the beginning of her reign; female descendants who marry, their descendants, and any other descendants who do not hold princely titles use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. While many of her descendants hold princely titles and styles, they usually use Mountbatten-Windsor instead of Windsor.

==Current use==
The British monarchy asserts that the name ''Mountbatten-Windsor'' is used by members of the royal family who do not have a surname, when a surname is required.<ref name="royal">{{cite web |title=The Royal Family name |date=3 April 2016 |url=https://www.royal.uk/royal-family-name |publisher=The British Monarchy |access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> For example, [[Anne, Princess Royal]], and [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York]], children of Queen Elizabeth II, used the surname ''Mountbatten-Windsor'' in official marriage registry entries in 1973 and 1986 respectively.<ref>Philip Ziegler, ''Mountbatten: The Official Biography'', 1985, p.682</ref> Likewise, [[William, Prince of Wales]], used the name when filing a French lawsuit related to the topless pictures of [[Catherine, Princess of Wales|his wife]] published by the French magazine ''[[Closer (magazine)|Closer]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/william-and-kate-win-legal-battle--but-lose-war-to-keep-topless-photos-under-wraps-8153383.html|title=William and Kate win legal battle – but lose war to keep topless photos under wraps|last=Lichfield|first=John|date=19 September 2012|work=The Independent|access-date=28 February 2017}}</ref>

At the time of the 1960 declaration, palace officials claimed in private communications that it created a hidden surname that would emerge several generations later when some of Queen Elizabeth II's descendants were further removed from the throne.<ref>http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/TNA/HO_290_72.htm (see, in particular, the article by Edward F. Iwi).</ref> On the [[wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones]] in 1999, the Queen decided, with their agreement, that any of their future children should not be styled His or Her [[Royal Highness]].<ref>Even though such children would theoretically be a Prince or Princess under the 1917 letters patent which changed the name of the Royal House to Windsor.</ref> Consequently, the birth of their daughter in 2003 marked the first emergence of the Mountbatten-Windsor surname. Their daughter was named Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor, and she goes by the title of [[Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor]], her father being the [[Duke of Edinburgh]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1447876/Lady-Louise-heralds-return-for-Mountbattens.html|title=Lady Louise heralds return for Mountbattens|date=27 November 2003|work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

Mountbatten-Windsor differs from the official name of the [[British royal family]], which remains the [[House of Windsor]].<ref name="royal"/> In accordance with law and custom in the English-speaking world, the surname ''Mountbatten-Windsor'' belongs to all male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and is used by them if and when a surname is needed. In contrast, male-line descendants of [[King George V]], the first monarch of the House of Windsor, use ''Windsor'' as their surname if and when a surname is needed, as for example [[Lady Davina Windsor]] and [[Lady Marina Windsor]], respectively descended from George V's sons [[Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester]] and [[Prince George, Duke of Kent]]. (George V's other sons have no male-line descendants: [[George VI|King George VI]] had only daughters while [[King Edward VIII]] had no issue and [[Prince John of the United Kingdom|Prince John]] was unmarried.) After the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was renamed Windsor, other descendants of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]] could also use the name Windsor, as for example, [[Alastair Arthur Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]], grandson of their son [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]]. None do so today, however, because the only male line (apart from the descendants of King George V) is through [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], whose descendants use the surname Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (English) or von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (German).

==Male-line descendants of Elizabeth II and Philip==
The family tree is based on the current [[Succession to the British throne|line of succession to the British throne]] (addition of last heir)
{{Tree list}}
* [[File:Crown of Saint Edward (Heraldry).svg|15px]] ''[[Queen Elizabeth II]] (1926–2022)'' ⚭ [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] ''[[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]] (1921–2021)'' – m. 1947
** [[File:2022 pattern Tudor Crown (2D) Sodacan style.svg|15px]] '''[[King Charles III]] (b. 1948)'''
***'''(1)''' [[File:Coronet of the British Heir Apparent.svg|15px]] [[William, Prince of Wales]] (b. 1982)
****'''(2)''' [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Heir Apparent.svg|15px]] [[Prince George of Wales]] (b. 2013)
****'''(3)''' [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Heir Apparent.svg|15px]] [[Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015)|Princess Charlotte of Wales]] (b. 2015)
****'''(4)''' [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Heir Apparent.svg|15px]] [[Prince Louis of Wales]] (b. 2018)
***'''(5)''' [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex]] (b. 1984)
****'''(6)''' [[File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Prince Archie of Sussex]] (b. 2019)
****'''(7)''' [[File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Princess Lilibet of Sussex]] (b. 2021)
**'''(8)''' [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York]] (b. 1960) 
***'''(9)''' [[File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Princess Beatrice]], Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (b. 1988)
***'''(12)''' [[File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Princess Eugenie]], Mrs Jack Brooksbank (b. 1990)
**'''(15)''' [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh]] (b. 1964)
***'''(16)''' [[File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[James, Earl of Wessex|James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex]] (b. 2007)
***'''(17)''' [[File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor]] (b. 2003)
**'''(18)''' [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[Anne, Princess Royal]] (b. 1950)
{{Tree list/end}}

==Marriages==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Wedding !! Combined coat of arms
|-
| [[Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten|20 November 1947]]
| [[Elizabeth II|Princess Elizabeth]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Philip Mountbatten]] (formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark)
| align=center|[[File:Combined Coat of Arms of Elizabeth and Philip, the Duchess and Duke of Edinburgh.svg|100px]]
|-
| [[Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips|14 November 1973]]
| [[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne]] and [[Mark Phillips]]
| align=center|[[File:Combined Coat of Arms of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips.svg|100px]]
|-
| [[Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer|29 July 1981]]
| [[Charles III|Charles, Prince of Wales]] and [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Lady Diana Spencer]]
| align=center|[[File:Combined Coat of Arms of Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales.svg|100px]]
|-
| [[Wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson|23 July 1986]]
| [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York]] and [[Sarah, Duchess of York|Sarah Ferguson]]
| align=center|[[File:Combined Coat of Arms of Andrew and Sarah, the Duke and Duchess of York.svg|100px]]
|-
| 12 December 1992
| [[Anne, Princess Royal]] and [[Timothy Laurence]]
| align=center|
|-
| [[Wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones|19 June 1999]]
| [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex]] and [[Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh|Sophie Rhys-Jones]]
| align=center|[[File:Combined Coat of Arms of Edward and Sophie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex.svg|100px]]
|-
| [[Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles|9 April 2005]]
| [[Charles III|Charles, Prince of Wales]] and [[Queen Camilla|Camilla Parker Bowles]]
| align=center|[[File:Combined Coat of Arms of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.svg|100px]]
|-
| [[Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton|29 April 2011]]
| [[William, Prince of Wales|Prince William, Duke of Cambridge]] and [[Catherine, Princess of Wales|Catherine Middleton]]
| align=center|[[File:Combined Coat of Arms of William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.svg|100px]]
|-
| [[Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle|19 May 2018]]
| [[Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex]] and [[Meghan, Duchess of Sussex|Meghan Markle]]
| align=center|[[File:Combined Coat of Arms of Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.svg|100px]]
|-
| [[Wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank|12 October 2018]]
| [[Princess Eugenie|Princess Eugenie of York]] and [[Jack Brooksbank]]
| align=center|[[File:Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank, Joint Coat of Arms.png|100x100px]]
|-
| [[Wedding of Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi|17 July 2020]]
| [[Princess Beatrice|Princess Beatrice of York]] and [[Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi]]
| align=center|[[File:Count Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi & Princess Beatrice, Countess Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Joint Coat of Arms.png|100x100px]]
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[House of Windsor]] – Queen Elizabeth II's paternal family house
* [[Bowes-Lyon family]] – Queen Elizabeth II's maternal family.
* [[House of Glücksburg]] – Prince Philip's paternal family.
* [[Mountbatten family]] – Prince Philip's maternal family.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mountbatten-Windsor (surname)}}
* [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/41948/data.pdf 1960 Declaration]

{{Mountbatten-Windsor}}
{{Elizabeth II}}
{{Philip, Duke of Edinburgh}}
{{Charles III}}

[[Category:Mountbatten-Windsor family| ]]
[[Category:Surnames of European origin]]