Prince Harry's full name explained as fans discover Harry isn't even his real first name

He may be known the world over as Prince Harry - but it seems that he has a different first name on his birth certificate - and by coincidence, Meghan Markle's real first name isn't Meghan either

His official title as the younger son of King Charles is the Duke of Sussex - but nearly everyone knows him as Prince Harry.

Ever since his birth in 1984, the royal has always been called Harry by his parents, brother Prince William and his other royal relatives. But when it comes to his official full name, it appears the name Harry doesn't appear at all. When Princess Diana gave birth to him 40 years ago, he was actually named Henry. His full name is Henry Charles Albert David, which is believed to have been picked by his late mum - although he has never gone by Henry.

The Charles in his middle name is obviously in tribute to his father while Albert and David have also been used by royalty in the past. Harry once talked about his real name during a video chat with the winners of the 2022 WellChild Awards. Speaking to a young boy called Henry, Harry explained: "My name is Henry as well. But everyone calls me Harry. I have no idea why."

Meanwhile, by huge coincidence, it seems that wife Meghan Markle is the same, with her real first name not Meghan either. That's because when she was born back in August 1981, her parents Doria and Thomas officially named her Rachel Meghan, but despite this have always called her Meghan - as have her friends, although some shorten it to Meg. Ironically Rachel was the name of her popular character in her hit legal drama Suits.

Meghan let slip her real first name in an interview during her Suits days on the American talk show The Racheal Ray Show. The show's host told Meghan: "The character's name is Rachel, which is great." Meghan responded: "Did you know my first name is Rachel in real life? Did you know that? So I was born Rachel Meghan Markle but my parents -" but Meghan was cut off before she could finish her story.

When it comes to their children, the couple's oldest child is Prince Archie, who has the middle name Harrison. Harrison means "son of Harry", so its inclusion in Archie's full name is likely to have been a tribute to his father.

In 2022, Meghan admitted that they weren't sure about Archie's name and were really torn between a few options. While they knew they wanted both Archie and Harrison, they couldn't decide which to make his first name and which to use as the middle name.

Speaking to Invictus Games competitor Sherry McBain, 42, during the competition in The Hague last April, she said she still loves the name Harrison. Sherry, who lives in Southampton, said: "She was like 'Harrison, that's Archie's middle name', and Mandy was like 'Yeah, I know'. They were just having a chat because Harry and Meghan couldn't decide between Archie and Harrison for the first name."

Meanwhile, their youngest child Princess Lilibet is named in honour of her great-grandmother the late Queen, who had the moniker Lilibet as a pet name. The name came to the former monarch as when she was a child she was unable to pronounce Elizabeth properly.

A statement from Harry and Meghan after she was born read: "Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honour her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales."