Meghan Markle uses her maiden name for the first time since royal exit

Meghan Markle was heard using her maiden name for the first time after leaving the royal family earlier this year.

The Duchess of Sussex was introduced as The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle' before she started her empowering address at the Girl Up Summit, on Monday.

According to media outlets, this is thought to be the first time she has used her maiden name, Markle, in an official capacity since marrying Prince Harry in 2018.

Previously, she 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."

Furthermore, her name was signed on her son Archie's birth certificate as: Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.

Before Meghan, the York of Duchess, 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.