what are the royals last name

The British Royal Family does not have a last name in the traditional sense. Before 1917, members of the British Royal Family had no surname, but only the name of the house or dynasty to which they belonged. The Royal Family name of Windsor was confirmed by The Queen after her accession in 1952. However, in 1960, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh decided that they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the Royal Family (without changing the name of the Royal House), as Windsor is the surname used by all the male and unmarried female descendants of George V. It was therefore declared in the Privy Council that The Queens descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor. This reflected Prince Philip's surname. Royals who are descended from Queen Elizabeth II through the male line use the hyphenated surname Mountbatten-Windsor when needed. However, members of the Royal Family can be known both by the name of the Royal house and by a surname, which are not always the same, and often they do not use a surname at all.