He has been stripped of his titles and forced to leave his 30-room mansion in Windsor, but disgraced member of the royal family Andrew Mountbatten Windsor may be given something new by Buckingham Palace – a hyphen in his name.
This would change it to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and bring the double-barrelled surname in line with how it was first used by the Queen, and how it is usually formulated by his relatives.
When the palace announced that Andrew would no longer hold the title of “Prince” or “His Royal Highness” in the wake of further revelations about his connections with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, and the publication of a damning book by Virginia Giuffre, it gave his name as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, with no hyphen – a decision that was reportedly agreed with Andrew himself.
But The Independent understands the palace is now considering reinstating the usual hyphen, which is how his late mother styled the double-barrelled name when it was introduced.
It was immediately prior to Andrew’s birth that the surname Mountbatten-Windsor was created. Though he is the third of Elizabeth’s four children, Andrew was the first to be born after her accession to the throne – when the official royal family name, Windsor, was still in use. This meant that as her husband, Prince Philip had to give up his surname.
The style change was announced two weeks before Andrew was born, and it is recognised as having been created largely to accommodate Prince Philip’s surname – Mountbatten – within the family, after he expressed frustration that he was “the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his children”. In the now famous rant to his friends, he added: “I’m nothing but a bloody amoeba.”
In a lengthy proclamation in The London Gazette in February 1960, a notice by Elizabeth was published, stating her last-minute changes. It said: “My Lords, Whereas on the 9th day of April 1952, I did declare My Will and Pleasure that I and My children shall be styled and known as of 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 titular 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.”
Now, historians have suggested that the disgraced royal ought to be styled Mountbatten-Windsor, with a hyphen, to maintain tradition.
Andrew Lownie, historian and author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, told The Independent: “It is strange that the former Prince Andrew wished – and was allowed – to drop the hyphen, as the family name is Mountbatten-Windsor. Indeed, under the 1960 Privy Council Declaration, he was the first royal baby to take that name, and other royals have adopted that format.”
Lownie noted that this includes “Princess Anne on her 1973 marriage certificate and Prince Harry’s son Archie on his 2019 birth certificate.”
He added: “My own view is that a correction will be made.”
Ian Lloyd, a royal historian and author, said: “I was quite surprised when the palace statement came out giving Andrew’s name without a hyphen, given the historic precedent for one.
“Despite everything that has gone on, I expect that Prince Philip might at least be pleased to know that the Mountbatten name lives on,” he suggested to The Times.
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