Australian Program Neglects This Meghan Markle Name Change On Live TV

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2026 Australian trip was filled with a lot of activities, including a surprise appearance on Australian TV’s MasterChef.

As a lifestyle influencer and the owner of a Netflix cooking show, Meghan Markle put her culinary skills to the test by judging the participants of the cooking show.

In the teaser clip of the Melbourne cooking show shared on Wednesday, April 15, Judge Poh Ling Yeow introduced the 44-year-old Duchess with both her royal designation and her birth name. This is despite the fact that Meghan publicly stated that she no longer goes by her pre-marriage surname.

Meghan Markle Introduced With This Surname Following Her Revelation On ‘With Love, Meghan’

Last year, Meghan Markle launched her Netflix cooking show, ‘With Love, Meghan,’ and when we’re not learning about the Duchess’s hosting skills or her favorite recipes, we’re being treated to tidbits of her life.

For example, the former actress now prefers to go by her husband’s name, rather than by the name she grew up with and is more popularly known by.

“We’ve had MasterChef royalty in the kitchen before, but nothing like this,” Yeow said, in way of introduction to their latest high profile guest. “All the way from sunny California, please welcome to MasterChef Australia…the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle!”

Even though this little appearance was filmed when the couple touched down in Australia for their four-day visit, the episode will air when the new series launches on Sunday, April 19.

The introduction, however, tended to conflict with Meghan’s wishes, which she made on her cooking show last year. During an episode of the show, Meghan corrected pal Mindy Kaling for calling her by her maiden name.

During an exchange, Kaling happened to remark that “people wouldn’t believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box,” leading the mother-of-two to interject: “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying ‘Meghan Markle.’ You know I’m ‘Sussex’ now.”

She further explained that she made the decision to change her last name, in order for her to have some uniformity with her husband and children.

She would later reiterate this sentiment in a 2025 interview with PEOPLE, saying, “It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognised how meaningful that would be to me until we had children. I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together.”

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