Meghan Markle Is Called ‘Meghan Sussex’ by Drew Barrymore After Explaining Importance of ‘Family Name’

The Duchess of Sussex tells PEOPLE in this week’s exclusive issue about why “our shared family name” means much to her

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Drew Barrymore on the set of The Drew Barrymore Show. Photo: The Drew Barrymore Show/Ash Bean

Drew Barrymore made sure to call Meghan Markle by her “family name” when the Duchess of Sussex appeared on her namesake talk show.

It was announced on March 5 that Meghan, 43, would appear on The Drew Barrymore Show in a segment airing the following day, marking Meghan’s first daytime television talk show appearance in three years. It’s been a busy week for the Duchess of Sussex, whose lifestyle series With Love, Meghan premiered on March 4, on what doubled as the unveiling day for her first products from her As ever brand, including jam!

In a preview of the show, Barrymore, 50, addressed her guest as “Meghan Sussex” before the “Fast Five” segment began.

“This is the Fast Five with Meghan Sussex,” she said, as the audience applauded.

From there, Meghan answered a few rapid-fire questions about the last time she was surprised (by the card Prince Harry and their kids, Prince Archie, 5 and Princess Lilibet, 3, sent during her trip to New York City), what aspects of Harry she sees in their children (their pronunciation of zebra with a “British accent,” Meghan said) and what her former show Suits was originally called (“A Legal Mind,” she revealed).

It was a notable moment that Barrymore introduced Meghan with the surname “Sussex,” which Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet also use as their last name. The styling is a tradition within the royal family, and Prince Harry was known as “Harry Wales” while a pupil in school and in the army, taking his father King Charles’ Prince of Wales title at the time as the basis for his surname.

Speaking to PEOPLE in this week’s exclusive cover story, Meghan says the Sussex title bestowed upon her and Harry by Queen Elizabeth on their 2018 wedding day holds an even deeper meaning now that they have children.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex photographed in Montecito, California, in March 2024.

“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,” the Duchess of Sussex says. “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”

Describing the Sussex name as “part of our love story,” she adds, “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.”

In the second episode of With Love, Meghan on Netflix, Meghan corrected her friend Mindy Kaling when she called her Meghan Markle.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Mindy Kaling on the set of With Love, Meghan.Meghan, Duchess of Sussex/Instagram

The Duchess of Sussex made the statement as she and Kaling geared up for a garden party and talked about what they ate as children, when The Office star said, “People wouldn’t believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box.”

“It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now,” Meghan said.

“You have kids and you go, ‘No, I share my name with my children,’ ” she clarified. “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.”

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on the set of With Love, Meghan.Courtesy of Netflix

Meghan opened up to PEOPLE about building her new business, stepping back in front of the camera for her With Love series and her private world at home with Prince Harry and their family. The Duchess of Sussex calls the show “a love letter to California” and says she hopes it inspires viewers to strive for joy, not perfection.

“The series is about doing what you can do,” she says, “and doing it with love.”