What do you give the man who has lost everything? Andrew Mountbatten Windsor may get a HYPHEN in his commoner surname – at the late Queen’s request
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Buckingham Palace is said to be reconsidering how to shape Andrew’s name in line with the late Queen’s wishes.
After his titles were revoked, the former Duke was reintroduced to the world as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor; in particular, it was missing the hyphen traditionally used in the royal family’s double-barreled surname.
Officials confirmed that this name was agreed upon personally with him.
However, royal insiders said the Palace was being reconsidered after it was stated that the family name should be spelled Mountbatten-Windsor, according to decades of royal precedent.
The topic may seem trivial, but it speaks directly to the late Queen’s legacy and her 1960 Privy Council declaration that officially established the family surname for her descendants who were not princes or princesses.
Two weeks before Andrew’s birth, the then monarch signed an official declaration published in The London Gazette.
It stated: ‘Therefore, while I and my children shall continue to be called and known as the House and Family of Windsor, my grandchildren and descendants of women who marry and their descendants, other than those having the style, title or quality of Royal Highness and the title of Prince or Princess, shall bear the name Mountbatten-Windsor.’
The name was created to incorporate Philip Mountbatten’s surname into the Windsor lineage; this was a symbolic gesture reflecting the Queen’s marriage and the ongoing bond between her family and her husband’s.
This 1960 declaration meant that Andrew, born shortly afterwards, became the first royal baby officially registered with the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.
After his titles were revoked, the former Duke was reintroduced to the world as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor; in particular, it was missing the hyphen traditionally used in the royal family’s double-barreled surname.
Since he no longer held the title of Prince or the style of His Royal Highness, many historians believe that it was appropriate for him to revert – with the hyphen – to the definitive version laid out by his mother’s edict.
Royal historian and author Ian Lloyd told The Times they were surprised the Palace had published her name anonymously, given the ‘historical precedent’ and legal wording in the Queen’s statement.
Examples of the hyphenated name appear in numerous royal documents. Princess Anne’s full name on her 1973 marriage certificate is listed as Elizabeth Alice Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, Princess Anne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The same style also appeared on the 2019 birth certificate of Harry and Meghan’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
But the Palace hasn’t always been entirely consistent with punctuation when it comes to royal names.
Even among the aristocracy, hyphens come and go; sometimes depending on tradition, preference, or even field on official forms.
The late Queen Mother, for example, was known as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in official documents, but the hyphen was often dropped in everyday use as newspapers and royal announcements regularly referred to her as Elizabeth Bowes Lyon.
While other well-known names such as Andrew Parker Bowles and Helena Bonham Carter also dispensed with the hyphen despite their double-barrelled style, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber never used the hyphen.
However, the Mountbatten-Windsor case is expected to be handled differently because it stems directly from an official royal declaration rather than personal style.
According to royal sources, Buckingham Palace may now start using the hyphenated form in all references to Andrew’s name.
