<P> Different terms may be applied to the same or similar group of relatives of the monarch in his or her role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms . For example, in Canada the family is officially known as the Canadian royal family . </P> <P> Some members of the royal family have official residences named as the places from which announcements are made in the Court Circular about official engagements they have carried out . The state duties and staff of some members of the royal family are funded from a parliamentary annuity, the amount of which is fully refunded by the Queen to the Treasury . </P> <P> Since 1917, when King George V changed the name of the royal house from Saxe - Coburg and Gotha, members of the royal family belong, either by birth or by marriage, to the House of Windsor . Senior titled members of the royal family do not usually use a surname, although since 1960 Mountbatten - Windsor, incorporating Prince Philip's adopted surname of Mountbatten, has been prescribed as a surname for Elizabeth II's direct descendants who do not have royal styles and titles, and it has sometimes been used when required for those who do have such titles . In 2014 the royal family were regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the family among a group of people that they most associated with UK culture . </P> <P> On 30 November 1917, King George V issued letters patent defining the styles and titles of members of the royal family; the text of the notice from the London Gazette is: </P>

The last name of the royal family of england