After the removal of his titles, the Palace is considering reinstating something for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor: a hyphen.
When Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew would no longer be known as a prince, it gave his new name as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, with no hyphen in the double-barrelled surname.
It is understood that this was the name agreed with the former prince and the version Andrew preferred. Now, however, the Palace is considering introducing a hyphen in accordance with his late mother’s wishes.
Some historians spoke of their surprise that Andrew’s new name would not contain a hyphen given the “historic precedent”.
The surname, which was created to accommodate [Prince] Philip Mountbatten’s name within the family, appears with a hyphen on official documents.
It was introduced by the Palace following a privy council declaration made by the late Queen before the birth of Andrew, who was the first of her children to be born after Elizabeth acceded the throne.
Two weeks before the birth of Andrew in February 1960, a notice by Elizabeth was published in The London Gazette. 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.”
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Some historians feel that now Andrew has lost the “titular dignity” of Prince, he ought to be known as Mountbatten-Windsor, with a hyphen.
Elizabeth and Prince Philip with Anne and Charles following Andrew’s birth in 1960
CENTRAL PRESS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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.
“Prince Philip had complained that he was ‘the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his children’, which made him ‘nothing but a bloody amoeba’.
“The late Queen’s privy council declaration, therefore, was a way in which the name Mountbatten could be preserved for future generations.
“Despite everything that has gone on, I expect that Prince Philip might at least be pleased to know that the Mountbatten name lives on.”
Historical records support the use of a hyphen. On the Princess Royal, Anne’s marriage certificate on November 14, 1973, to her first husband Mark Phillips, her name is given as Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, a Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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Similarly, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their first child on May 6, 2019, the name listed on the birth certificate was Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, as their son’s name is written on his birth certificate, in 2019
DOMINIC LIPINSKI/PA
There have not always been firm positions on hyphens when it comes to royal names, however. The late Queen Mother was Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, with a hyphen on all official documents, including the late Queen’s death certificate in 2022. In reality she was often known as Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, without the hyphen.
Other notable names that do not use a hyphen include Andrew Parker Bowles, the Queen’s former husband, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the composer, and Helena Bonham Carter, the actress.
Some argue that while a double-barrelled name with a hyphen used to be the preserve of great aristocratic families, it has become more commonplace.
Hyphenless Helena Bonham Carter at the Baftas last year
ANDREW SIMS FOR THE TIMES
In 2004 France decreed that all newly hyphenated surnames, such as those used by modern families where children are born to unmarried parents or where the woman keeps her maiden name, must be spelt with two hyphens rather than one to distinguish them from grander aristocratic families. For example, it meant that a double-barrelled, double-hyphenated name would appear as Dupond–Dhome rather than Dupond-Dhome.
It caused an uproar and five years later the rule was overturned on the advice of the Conseil d’État, the country’s administrative watchdog.
Sophia Money-Coutts, a journalist who uses a hyphen in her name, said: “I think hyphens make matters a little tidier, hitching one bit of your surname to another like a Duplo carriage. They’re clearer, too — no mixing up of first names, middle names and surnames.”
It is understood that Buckingham Palace, which has now checked the privy council declaration made by the late Queen in 1960, may use a hyphen in future when referring to Andrew.
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