Princess Diana and King Charles apparently disagreed over something rather important when their sons were born - and Harry's latest podcast interview brought it to mind. The Duke of Sussex recorded a special episode of Joe Mahler Will See You Now during his time in the UK and introduced himself to listeners in an unusual way.
He was asked by retired rugby star Joe to do so and he responded, "Henry Albert Charles David, Duke of Sussex". This is one of the only times we've heard the Prince refer to himself like this and even when he was a child he was always called Harry.
His first name was chosen by Princess Diana and she also picked 'William' for the Prince of Wales after rejecting Charles's options. In Andrew Morton's Diana: Her True Story, she's quoted as saying, "He wanted Albert and Arthur, and I said no. Too old."
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According to People, she told Morton in their interview that "there weren't fights" about it - she just said, "No thank you" to those. In the end, Charles and Diana reached a compromise and Arthur and Albert were both used for their sons in another way.
When he gave his full name on Joe Mahler's podcast, the Duke of Sussex could be seen as re-affirming that link with his family and his royal position. Joe's podcast co-host Jake Bhardwaj quipped, "It's a long one" and laughed after hearing Harry's intro.
As Harry just reminded us all, Albert is one of his three middle names, whilst Prince William has Arthur as a middle name. Arthur has obvious Arthurian legend links but Albert is a more traditional British royal name. Perhaps King Charles wanted to honour his grandfather, as George VI changed his name from Albert when he became King.
Albert was also the name of one of Diana's grandfathers. Even so, it seems she wasn't swayed and thought the middle names could pay tribute instead. Harry also has Charles as a middle name as a nod to his dad and David could be after Charles's cousin, David Armstrong-Jones.
Diana and Charles aren't the only royal parents who have initially disagreed over baby names. The Princess of Wales apparently preferred something different for George before he was born, but she ended up being the one who compromised.
In his book, William & Catherine, royal author and editor Russell Myers claimed she "had her heart set on" Alexander for a boy or Alexandra for a girl. Prince George has Alexander as a middle name and William "was keen to incorporate a tribute to his late mother" with a daughter.
Princess Charlotte was later given Diana as a middle name and Harry and Meghan did the same when Princess Lilibet was born in 2024. During his podcast interview, the Duke of Sussex spoke about his late mother and how he's taken her style of parenting on board with his kids.
He's said that Diana used to hug him and William "as tight as possible" and now he hugs Archie and Lili "extra tight" after a difficult day. A few days earlier Harry also revealed the family marks his mum's birthday and the anniversary of her death by making lemon drizzle cake in her honour.
