Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their first child, Archie, in 2019. Two years later, their daughter was born, with the couple’s choice of name raising many eyebrows. The little girl was named Lilibet, after the Queen, but since Harry and Meghan had left the Royal Family at this point, there were those who argued that it wasn’t the right thing for them to do.
Since she was born in the US, Lilibet only met the Queen once. By all accounts, that meeting was not what Harry and Meghan had hoped for, as Elizabeth declined to take a photo with her great-granddaughter.
Now, a royal author has claimed that Harry knew that naming his daughter ‘Lilibet’ would mean trouble – and that the Duke of Sussex should’ve anticipated the looming issue.
Harry and Meghan have kept a low profile since the Duke released his book Spare in early January. The couple has been seen out and about just once since the book’s release – most likely they are staying at home with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
Now, Harry held nothing back when it came to criticizing the Royal Family in his memoir. King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton all got their fair share of criticism, and Harry revealed several new things about his life within the royal sphere.
Moreover, he also claimed that he wasn’t invited to William and Kate’s home to play with then-toddler Prince George – and stated his fears that their younger children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, will end up like him – a “Spare.”
Harry & Meghan – children Archie & Lilibet
While talked at length Harry about the supposed mistreatment of both himself and his wife, Meghan Markle, though there were also plenty of joyful elements to Spare. That included new details about how he and Meghan handled the births of their two children, Archie and Lilibet, and what happened during their respective labors.
Archie was born at the Portland Hospital in London, and as for any royal baby, the interest from the media and paparazzi was huge. However, Harry and Meghan decided to approach things a bit differently. According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, Harry was obsessed with not giving the media any details of his son’s birth.
When it came to Lilibet, however, things were quite different. At the time, the couple had already left the Royal Family and moved to California, where they would be safe from the British paparazzi press.
Harry and Meghan decided to keep as much as possible private surrounding Lilibet’s birth. They released a short statement sharing the happy news after her entrance into the world.
“Lili was born on Friday, June 4, at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA. She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well and settling in at home,” the statement read.
Though their relationship with the Royal Family wasn’t at its best at the time, family members congratulated the proud parents of two.
It was during the now-infamous Oprah interview that Meghan and Harry announced they were expecting a little girl. They also confirmed it would be their last child. Unsurprisingly, given their connection to the Royal Family, it wasn’t long at all before speculation over a possible name began to swirl.
Lilibet – meaning behind her name
Their firstborn was named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Surprisingly, the name Archie has no connection to the British Royal Family. It means “genuine” or “brave,” and is a pretty common name in the UK.
But for Harry and Meghan’s daughter, it’s a whole different story. Early on, a source told Page Six the couple were “highly unlikely” to name their daughter Diana.
Furthermore, Harry and Meghan were said to fear that the name Diana would “place too much pressure on the child,” thereby making everything in her life more difficult.
Lilibet, meanwhile, is a reference to Queen Elizabeth, who was called “Lilibet” as a toddler. In fact, it was first used by then-Princess Elizabeth herself, because she couldn’t pronounce her own name correctly.
The Queen’s grandfather, King George V, used to call her “Lilibet.” Since then, the name has stuck, as reported by The Guardian. She was called Lilibet by the innermost circle of the family, including her late husband, Prince Philip.
Royal experts claimed to name her Lilibet was “a risk”
When Philip wrote to his mother-in-law following their wedding, he said: “Lilibet is the only ‘thing’ in the world which is absolutely real to me.”
Though Harry and Meghan’s newborn daughter is named Lilibet, she will be known as “Lili.”
To honor both the Queen and Princess Diana (Lilibet has her grandmother’s name as her middle name) by naming their daughter after them seems like a lovely thing to do. However, the names hold an even deeper meaning than they first suggest, if certain rumors are to be believed.
Harry and Meghan faced heavy criticism over the names they chose for their beloved daughter immediately after her birth. One critic, royal commentator Richard Kay, wrote in a column for the Daily Mail that Meghan and Harry might have taken things too far by naming their daughter Lilibet.
“By giving the baby the name Lilibet, the Queen’s private family nickname – even though they intend to use the diminutive ‘Lili’ for their daughter – there is a risk,” Kay wrote, as quoted by Express.
“Will it be seen as a presumptuous choice for a royal baby who is eighth in line to the throne, but who will grow up on the other side of the world speaking with an American accent?”
Kay added: “And how might Prince Charles feel about his fifth grandchild carrying such an intimate family pet name that he has never used himself? It is tempting to wonder if Harry would have been so emboldened in his choice if his grandfather Prince Philip – the only close family member permitted to call the Queen ‘Lilibet’ – had still been alive.
Was the Queen “desperately unhappy” about her great-granddaughter named Lilibet?
“Doubtless, there will be among the more cautious courtiers at the Palace some discomfort and the odd raised eyebrow at this latest convention-destroying Exocet from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
When asked what the Queen would think of the girl’s name, royal expert Angela Levin told Good Morning Britain she might even be offended.
“I think she’s desperately unhappy because they were desperately rude about her, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I think it’s quite rude to her Majesty the Queen,” Levin said.
She added: “It was a very private nickname from her husband, who hasn’t been dead for very long. Prince Charles would never dream of referring to his mother as Lilibet.
“He’s never used it – it was a special name, especially for the the Duke of Edinburgh’. She added she believes it was ‘demeaning’ for the Sussexes to have used it”.
Lilibet had to wait a whole year until she met some of her British Royal Family. She celebrated her first birthday on the grounds of Frogmore Cottage, which up until last week, had been Harry and Meghan’s British base in the UK.
The couple was seen receiving a birthday cake in their Netflix documentary series. Rumors had it that William and Kate had been invited since Harry and Meghan wanted to extend an “olive branch.” However, they didn’t show.
But one person who did attend Lilibet’s birthday party was Queen Elizabeth. It was her first time meeting her latest grand-grandchild, though no pictures of the two were released.
Queen Elizabeth refused to take pictures with Lilibet when first meeting
According to the Sun, Harry and Meghan wanted a photographer there to capture the moment between the Queen and Lilibet – but as it was a private family meeting, they were told it would never happen.
According to royal expert Camilla Tominey, the Queen refused to take a photo with the little girl because she had a bloodshot eye.
Harry was rumored to have expressed his desire to get a photo between the two “at some point in the future.”
“The couple had hoped to bring their own photographer to capture the first meeting between the sovereign, whose family nickname is Lilibet, and her great-granddaughter,” Camilla Tominey wrote.
“However, the Queen personally intervened to prevent an official image being taken, apparently advising the couple that she had a bloodshot eye and did not want to feature in any pictures for public consumption.”
As mentioned, several royal experts openly criticized Harry and Meghan for naming their daughter Lilibet. Now, royal author Tom Quinn has spoken out on the same subject in his new book Guilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family.
As reported by the Express, Quinn claims it is “beyond belief” that Harry couldn’t predict the trouble that might be caused by giving Queen Elizabeth’s childhood name to his daughter.
Harry knew naming his daughter Lilibet would ”disrespect’ Queen, expert claims
Moreover, while he suggests that the couple only wanted to pay tribute to the monarch, Quinn says Harry should’ve known better.
“[Harry] surely would have known that appropriating the monarch’s beloved childhood nickname would be perceived by many as disrespectful and intrusive in a way that naming their daughter Elizabeth would have not been,” Quinn wrote in his book.
Quinn added that at the time, some experts thought naming their daughter Lilibet was “cynical” and only an attempt by Harry and Meghan to increase their “royal currency,” even though it had been more than a year since they left the Royal Family.
Further, the royal author quoted royal biographer Gyleees Brandreth, who said that Queen Elizabeth was “touched” by the gesture from the Sussexes. However, according to Quinn, the late Queen never publicly shared how she really felt about her great-granddaughter being named Lilibet.
The author recalled that the late Queen did not publicly share how she interpreted the gesture by the Sussexes. Quinn added that the issue about Lilibet’s name simply shows a “fundamental misunderstanding based on differences between American and UK culture.”
“Meghan would never have thought naming her daughter Lilibet was anything other than a huge compliment; in the UK, it looks like an impertinence, and this is emblematic of many of Meghan’s difficulties,” he added.
