What Is Prince William's Last Name?

It's rarely ever used.

While the world waits in anticipation of Prince William and Kate Middleton's upcoming royal wedding, the biggest question on people's minds isn't the usual stuff, like "What will Kate's wedding dress look like?" or "Which uncle will get drunk and cause a scene?" No, it's "What is Prince Williams' last name?"

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Internet searches from folks curious about the royal prince's official surname are up by nearly 1,200% this week, as we're just now realizing that there must be more to his name than just Prince William.

As it turns out, there is. But it's hardly ever used.

Though generally referred to as Prince William of Wales, Will comes from the royal family of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the house of Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert.

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However, due to anti-German sentiment at the outset of World War I, the royal family decided to change the surname to something more English sounding. Ideas for the new name ranged from Plantagenet to Tudor to even just England. They eventually settled on Windsor.

Then in 1960, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip decided to merge their last names, giving their descendants the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.

Thus, the young Prince's full name is William Mountbatten-Windsor, though you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who's ever used it. But at least you can go be a smart-ass now.

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