Meghan Markle has officially confirmed that she no longer goes by her maiden name after correcting her longtime friend Mindy Kaling during an episode of her new Netflix series.

The 43-year-old former actress is currently filming With Love, Meghan, a lifestyle show, and in the second episode, she appears alongside Mindy, 45.

During their conversation, Meghan corrected The Office star after she referred to her as “Meghan Markle,” revealing that she now identifies by her royal title instead.

In one scene, as they reminisced about Meghan’s acting days and childhood memories, Mindy playfully remarked, “People wouldn’t believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box.” Meghan quickly responded, “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying ‘Meghan Markle.’ You know I’m Sussex now.”

Why Meghan Now Identifies as “Sussex”

Meghan married Prince Harry, 40, in May 2018, and together they share two children—five-year-old Archie and three-year-old Lilibet. On their wedding day, the late Queen Elizabeth II granted them the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Following the Queen’s passing, their children, originally named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, were formally recognized as Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex under royal protocol.

Explaining why she chooses to embrace the Sussex name, Meghan shared, “You have kids and you go, ‘No, I share my name with my children.’ I didn’t know how meaningful that would be to me, but it just means so much to go, this is our family name, our little family name.”

Mindy responded with admiration, saying, “Now I know, and I love it.”

The Significance of the Sussex Name

In an interview with People, Meghan elaborated on the importance of the Sussex name, stating, “It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children. I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H, and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”

She also described it as “part of our love story,” adding, “I think as the kids get older, they’re so excited about, ‘Oh my gosh, Mama and Papa, how did you meet?’ I think that will come with time as they get older, but for right now a huge part of our love story is that we share the name Sussex.”

Meghan’s Previous Name Changes

This is not the first time Meghan has undergone a name change since joining the royal family. On Archie’s birth certificate, she was originally listed as “Rachel Meghan, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex,” but later, her name was modified to simply read “Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex” without her given name.

Following their decision to step down as senior working royals in 2020 and relocate to the United States, Meghan and Harry relinquished the HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles. However, they continue to use their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles.