Meghan Markle corrects Mindy Kaling over her last name: 'I'm a Sussex now'

Five years after she and Prince Harry decided to step back from their roles in the royal family, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex is explaining why the couple has decided to keep the Sussex name.

Prince Harry's grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, gave the couple the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they married in 2018.

Keeping with British royal family tradition, the couple, who now share two kids, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, adopted Sussex as their surname, Meghan told People in an interview and re-emphasized in her new Netflix show, "With Love, Meghan."

“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,” Meghan, 43, told People. “I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”

The name, she noted, “is part of our love story.”

“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," she added.

Meghan's comments came ahead of the release of her new lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan,” which premiered March 4 on Netflix. The series shows Meghan cooking, gardening and decorating along with a handful of celebrity guests.

In the second episode, which co-stars Mindy Kaling as a guest, Meghan broaches the topic of her last name again.

“It’s so funny that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know, I’m Sussex now," Meghan told Kaling.

Meghan said it feels "meaningful" to share a name with her husband and children.

"You have kids and you go, ‘No, I share my name with my children’ and that feels so, I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me but it just feels so much. This is our family name, our little family name," she said.

While Meghan, her husband and kids reside on a sprawling estate in Montecito, California, she opted to film the series in a nearby rental home to maintain the family's privacy.

“I wanted to protect that safe haven,” she told People. “We’re a close-knit family, and I love those moments — putting Lili down for a nap, having lunch together, having sacred time together at the end of the day. Our kitchen is where Mama just cooks for the family, and with a crew of 80-plus people, that’s a lot of people to have in your house!”

The series, Meghan told People, became a possibility only after Archie and Lilibet got to be a little older.

“When your children get to a certain age — when you’re not just playing in the sandbox with them but almost playing in your own sandbox again — it’s super joyful,” she said. “As a woman, a mom and a wife, to be able to find yourself again — in a way that was always present but that you maybe couldn’t put as much attention on as you now can when your kids are a little bit older — is a wonderful feeling.”

Over the weekend, Meghan gave fans a sweet glimpse of life at home with her loved ones when she shared a photo of Lilibet hanging out with tennis great Serena Williams, a longtime friend.

The former "Suits" star posted a video in her Instagram story that showed her 3-year-old daughter and Williams playing the board game Candyland.

“When the aunties come to celebrate … and to play!” Meghan captioned the video. “Love you @serenawilliams.”

She later shared a photo of the trio focusing on the board game on the coffee table before them.

“3 days until the party begins. All are invited," Meghan wrote, promoting the "With Love, Meghan" premiere.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com