Royal Last Name

Last April 29, 2011 we all witness all over again another Royal wedding which we have last witness over 30 years ago through the wedding of Lady Diana Frances Spencer or popularly known as Lady Diana or Princess Diana of Wales when she married Prince Charles of Wales on July 29, 1981 and after 30 years the eldest son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William turned to say his I do to a lucky girl name Kate,
Prince William born as William Arthur Philip Louis on June 21, 1982 he was the elder son of the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles and of the late lady Diana, Princess of Wales and the third eldest grand child of the queen of England Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Price William will be the second in line of succession behind or next to his father Prince Charles of Wales. Moreover, Kate Middleton was born as Catherine "Kate" Middleton on January 9, 1982.Kate  was commoner  before she marry Prince William. Kate grew up in Chapel Row at the 
Bucklebury a village in England and studied at University of St Andrew where she meet William and as they all they say the "rest is history" which fortunately with Kate,ended up in fairytale like wedding which turned out to be the most watched wedding in the world and witness their exchanging of vows and I do's before the eyes of million and million of peoples all over the world to be united and be the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Now that Prince William and Kate is already married, I been wondering of what would be Prince William's last name?, In our Philippines costume and I guess every culture in the world that when a woman or bride get married her name will become her middle name and she will adopt the last name of her groom or husband. If that is the case in the Royal Family? then what would be the last name of the Duchess of Cambridge? or the Royal Family in general? Do they even have a last name? because we normally know and heard that these people being called as Elizabeth II, Prince Harry of Wales or Princes William of Wales or Prince Charles of Wales among others but we never heard them being address to their last name at all.

According to some article being published to the official website of the British Monarchy that the 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 or oftentimes they dont used a last name at all. Long before 1917 the member of the British Royal Family had no last name or surname and they are just being address only the name of the house or dynasty to which they are belong. Traditionally in United Kingdom the Kings and Princes is know by the names of the countries over which they and their families ruled and the only times that the name of the current dynasty  was change when the line of succession  was taken by rival faction within the family.  But in 1917 there was a radical change, when King George V the eldest son of King Edward VII who is the eldest son of Queen Victoria. adopted the last name "Windsor" after it's Castle of the same name from the original surname of "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" which is the family name of King Edward VII father's Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Kings George grandfather. King George declared on July 17, 1917 that all descendants in the male line of Queen Victoria will be subjects to these realm, other than female descendants who marry or who have married, shall bear the name Windsor, and so the surname become not only the name of their house or dynasty but also as the surname of his family. These was all happened due to the anti-German feeling at that time which is First World War.

The Windsor surname was confirmed by Queen Elizabeth II after her ascension in 1952, However Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II decided that they would also like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the Royal Family without changing the name of the Royal House Windsor which is the surname used by all the male and unmarried female descendants of George V that is why as it was declared in the Privy counsel that all direct descendants of Queen Elizabeth would carry the surname Mounbatten-Windsor except those female descendants who marry or those who are using the style "Your Royal Highness". On 1947 when Prince Philip became a naturalize he assume the name Philip Mounthbatten and the declaration will affect to all the Queens children on occasion that they will be needing a surname they will used the Mountbatten-Windsor. The  last name Mountbatten-Windsor first appeared on an official document on November 14, 1973, in the marriage register at Westminster Abbey for the marriage of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips.
As of this moment the last name  Mountbatten-Windsor is still the official Royal Family last name unless the current Prince of wales, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge chooses to change it when the time comes he was the king already to distinguished his and her wife the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton descendants or he will continuously used the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. At this moment what we can only say is that only time can tell and only God knows.