We all know him as Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and have always heard him be referred to as Harry since he was a boy - Haz, by his wife Meghan. So, hot on the heels of the pair's explosive documentary dropping on Netflix on Thursday, December 8, it may come as a surprise (to some) to hear that the royal third in line to the throne's name isn't actually Harry.
Technically, Harry is the prince's nickname and a standard one for the first name of Henry (fun fact) but one that stuck and became the name the world knows him as. His full name is actually Henry Charles Albert David - in full, it's quite a mouthful: Prince Henry Charles Albert David, duke of Sussex, earl of Dumbarton, Baron Kilkeel, formerly Prince Harry of Wales.
Typically, most monarchs who are given the name Henry are referred to by close friends as 'Harry' - including the infamous Henry VIII, reports Metro. Growing up, he was given this name but at official events, he is referenced as Henry. For example, when Harry and Meghan announced their engagement, the statement read: "His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales and Ms. Meghan Markle Are Engaged to Be Married."
Speaking about this little tidbit in the past, Harry said during a chat with winners of the WellChild Awards (one of whom was also called Henry - as reported by Cosmopolitan): “My name is Henry as well, but everyone calls me Harry. I have no idea why.”
To make things even more confusing, the prince doesn't appear to have a last name like us mere commoners - or at least one that isn't used very often. While his son uses the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, Prince Harry is simply known as that.
On his son Archie's birth certificate, Harry's name reads 'His Royal Highness Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex' (his occupation is also stated as Prince of the United Kingdom - fancy!).
So, why does Archie - who was not born with the royal title of HRH - have this rather unique surname?
Well, according to the royal family's website: "The Queen’s descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor."
Now that he is no longer a serving royal (thus no longer using His Royal Highness, read more on that here), he could adopt his son's surname but has not yet done so.
To make things more complicated, while he served in the military, according to The Telegraph, he took on the surname of 'Wales' and was referred to as Captain Harry Wales.
Now, if that's not confusing enough, his wife, Meghan's, first name isn't even Meghan. It's Rachel - Rachel Meghan Markle, to be exact. So really, we should be having a documentary called Henry and Rachel, but that doesn't quite have the same effect, does it?
The first three episodes of Harry and Meghan are available to stream on Netflix now.
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