The Duchess of Sussex used her maiden name for the first time since leaving the royal family
- The Duchess of Sussex was introduced by her maiden name, Markle, at her first public event since stepping down from the royal family.
- She was introduced as "The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle" before her speech at the annual Girl Up Leadership Summit.
- It's thought to be the first time Markle has used her maiden name in an official capacity since marrying Prince Harry in 2018.
- The Duchess of York has also used her maiden name, Ferguson, since her divorce from Prince Andrew, when she lost her HRH title.
The Duchess of Sussex used her maiden name at her first engagement since stepping down from royal duties.
The duchess was introduced as "The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle" before taking the virtual stage at the Girl Up Summit, where she gave a speech about dealing the critics.
She was also credited with the name in the title of Girl Up's YouTube video showing the speech after the event.
It's thought to be the first time she has used her maiden name, Markle, in an official capacity since marrying Prince Harry in 2018.
Previously, Markle has only used her duchess title or her first name. For her voice-over role in Disney Plus' "Elephant" documentary earlier this year, she was credited as "Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex."
She stopped using her last name in official documentation after marrying Harry. Her name was signed on her son Archie's birth certificate as: Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.
There was speculation over whether Markle would use the name Mountbatten-Windsor, the royal family's official last name mostly used by members who do not hold HRH titles. Although Archie uses the last name, neither Markle nor Harry have used it in an official capacity.
It's worth noting that it may have been the event organizer, Girl Up's choice to use Markle's maiden name. Nonetheless, it wouldn't be unusual if it was Markle's choice — and if the former royal reverts back to using the name at future events.
The Duchess of York has alternated between her official title and her maiden name ever since she and Prince Andrew divorced in 1996.
Like Markle, Sarah Ferguson retains her official title of Duchess, but she does not use "HRH." While her Twitter handle is @SarahTheDuchess, she uses Sarah Ferguson as the name of her official YouTube channel and as the author name on her children's books.
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