The Sussex family celebrated the first birthday of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter Lilibet on June 4, 2022. The late Queen Elizabeth’s 12th great-grandchild was born on June 4, 2021, in Santa Monica, California. Elizabeth had never met her youngest great-grandchild, Lilibet, and had only seen her through virtual methods of connection before June 2022. Fortunately, before her death on September 8, 2022, that changed at her Platinum Jubilee, as Harry and Meghan were present to commemorate Elizabeth’s great milestone.
Harry and Meghan had returned to the UK for the first time since moving to the United States in 2020 to celebrate the late queen’s jubilee, a four-day holiday weekend commemorating Elizabeth’s amazing 70-year reign. On June 3, 2022, the pair made their first public appearance at a royal event in more than two years when they attended a thanksgiving service for the queen at the famed St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The Sussexes, however, were not invited to join the queen and the rest of the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the queen’s annual Trooping the Colour parade. However, the Washington Post said that as the parade took place, photographers caught sight of Meghan playing with some of Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren in a window of Buckingham Palace.
While Harry and Meghan have experienced a lot of backlash for leaving their royal duties to pursue a quieter life in the United States, their participation at the Queen’s Jubilee was appreciated, especially because it was her final major celebration before her death. More importantly, it gave Lilibet and her brother Archie a lovely tribute to their great-grandmother. As the royal couple’s daughter turns one, the globe celebrates her growth right before our eyes.
On September 15, 1984, Harry was born in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, to Princess Diana and King Charles III. While his upbringing was not without its challenges, such as his parent’s divorce, Harry was always known for his “happy-go-lucky” demeanor. According to Biography.com, his mother’s terrible and unexpected death in 1997 shook him greatly and left him with many emotional scars.
His desire for military service developed as he grew older, and in 2005, he enrolled at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He served for ten years and formally retired in May 2015. Despite the fact that he was no longer in active combat, Harry continued to volunteer to help wounded servicemen. According to the Royal Website, the Duke of Sussex’s military service included two deployments in Afghanistan, and he was eventually elevated to the rank of Lieutenant with The Household Cavalry.
In 2017, Harry was appointed Captain General of the Royal Marines, following the late Prince Philip, who held the role earlier. However, when he elected to resign as a senior royal member of the family in January 2020, Harry relinquished all military responsibilities.
Harry and Meghan met on a blind date in 2016 and struck it off immediately. Given how rapidly things moved, Meghan most certainly knew she had finally met the love of her life. “I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her,” Harry told Vogue. I thought, “I’m going to have to step up my game here.”
According to Town & Country, Harry would take Meghan to Botswana a few weeks later, capping off a whirlwind courtship. According to the couple, this journey was essential in bringing them together and kicking off their relationship. Over time, the country and their journey would become special to the couple, so much so that the center diamond in Meghan’s three-stone engagement ring would come from Botswana.
The trip allowed the couple to interact without any pressure or scrutiny. “We were genuinely by ourselves, which was important to me so that we could get to know each other,” Harry told Vogue.
Meghan described how she felt when Harry proposed to her in the same Vogue interview. She stated,
“It was an incredible surprise. He got down on one knee, and it was so nice, genuine, and romantic.”
Meghan and Harry even kept their wedding in 2018 more secret. The couple discussed their private vow exchange three days before their wedding day in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan, according to the BBC, stated:
“We phoned the archbishop and simply told him, ‘Look, this event, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us…’” “It was just the two of us in our backyard.”
Meghan had already succeeded as an actress through her hard work before meeting Harry. Nonetheless, her success as an actress could not have prepared her for the infamy she would attain after becoming Duchess of Sussex.
Meghan concentrated on her academics and worked in politics before building a reputation for herself in the entertainment business. Although Meghan knew her passion was acting, she disliked the concept of becoming a stereotypical Los Angeles girl who wanted to be an actor. It’s evident that she’s far from stereotypical.
Meghan would then go to Illinois and attend Northwestern in Evanston, where she decided to pursue politics as her next career. Even as an intern at the US Embassy in Argentina, Meghan maintained a passion for theater and the world of performing.
She continued to audition while finishing her education. Over the next few years, she received minor roles in films such as “Remember Me” and “Get Him to the Greek.” She’d also appear on “General Hospital,” but it wasn’t until she won her breakout role on the mega-hit program “Suits” that everything changed for her.
“After many months of reflection and internal deliberations, we have chosen to make a move this year, in the beginning, to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” Harry and Meghan posted on Instagram on January 8, 2020. As senior members of the Royal Family, we want to step back and endeavor to become financially independent while being completely supportive of Her Majesty The Queen.”
According to NBC News, this statement shocked the royal family and the rest of the world. According to Town And Country Magazine, this news surprised even the royal family, and the late Queen Elizabeth was only aware of the post 10 minutes beforehand.
“Although we would have wanted them to remain full-time working members of the royal family, we accept their choice to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a treasured part of my family,” the queen subsequently stated in a statement of support.
Following this comment, changes began, and Harry and Meghan began planning their trip to North America. Their formal last day as senior royal family members was March 31, 2020. Vanity Fair said that Harry had found fresh freedom for his passions and ambitions away from the confines of royal duties.
While problems between Harry and William existed, Vanity Fair said they were resolved after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to California in March 2020. There were also frequent video chats with his father, Charles, and grandma, Elizabeth. Vanity Fair also reported that “the queen adores seeing Archie onscreen and has commented on his streak of red hair,” according to a family acquaintance.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed their second pregnancy on Valentine’s Day 2021, only to discover the baby’s gender on the March 2021 interview special “Oprah with Meghan and Harry.”
People worldwide wondered if Harry would choose to honor his mother and grandmother with the birth of his daughter for months before the announcement. According to Express UK, royal observers believed that Harry and Meghan will choose a meaningful name for their daughter to commemorate both Elizabeth and Philip.
According to PEOPLE, the pair published a statement on Sunday: “It is with great delight that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their baby, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to 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,” the statement read. She weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces. Both mother and child are in good health and are settling in at home.”
As all royal fans know, the baby girl’s name is also quite meaningful, which was also acknowledged in the announcement. “Lili is named after Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Diana, her middle name, was selected to commemorate her late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”
“This is the couple’s second child, who also has a two-year-old son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor,” Harry and Meghan’s spokeswoman said. The Duke and Duchess appreciate your kind words and prayers as they enjoy this special time together as a family.”
“My husband and I are pleased to shortly be welcoming a girl,” Meghan stated in May, just before giving birth to her second child. “It’s a feeling of excitement we share with millions of other families worldwide. When we think of her, we think of all the countless families worldwide that need to be given the ability and support to lead us forward. Their future leadership depends on the decisions and actions we take today to position them and all of us for a successful, equitable, and compassionate tomorrow.”
Given the tragic events of the pandemic in the preceding years, filled with turmoil and sadness, the couple’s major announcement was the first bit of happy news the royal family had in a long time. Furthermore, Prince Philip, who would have been the child’s great-grandfather, died on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99. Meghan could not attend Philip’s funeral on April 17 because doctors advised her not to travel to the United Kingdom while pregnant.
Naturally, the royal family was overjoyed to have a new baby to love, especially since Lilibet was the queen’s 12th great-grandchild.
Following Queen Elizabeth’s death on September 8, 2022, Meghan and Harry’s daughter technically became a princess, according to laws established by King George VI in 1917. However, it is uncertain whether the Sussexes will accept the titles of prince and princess for their two children.
Lili’s first name has a lovely origin story. Many royal fans know that the queen’s close family referred to her as “Lilibet” because the little princess could not pronounce her own name. The queen’s parents and grandparents gave her the endearing moniker she kept throughout her life.
Apart from Philip and the queen’s parents, no other royal family members reportedly called her “Lilibet,” which meant that the late queen’s lovely nickname was no longer used after Philip’s death. While it was merely a forecast, not an assumption, that the queen’s 12th great-grandchild would be named “Lily,” Harry and Meghan went above and above by giving their daughter a memorable name.
Meghan and Harry had previously been quite discreet about revealing photos of their children, but fans were overjoyed to see that the couple had finally published a photo of Lilibet! The gorgeous shot, posted by photographer Misan Harriman, drew the attention of royal lovers worldwide. The image moved people all over the world.
“It was such a privilege to spend Lilibet’s first birthday with my family and hers!” the caption said. There was a lot of laughter and face-painting going on.
Internet enthusiasts were overjoyed to see a close-up picture of the tiny princess. The Instagram photo received over 75,000 likes and several comments.
“Wow, what a gorgeous girl Lili is,” one kind Instagram user commented.
Lilibet was wearing a baby blue frock with a white bow in her hair in the shot. The shot instantly went viral on the internet and was covered by numerous news outlets. Lilibet, like her brother Archie, acquired her father’s characteristic red hair! Lilibet had a fantastic first birthday, and we wish her the best.
What kind of relationship do you envision Lilibet having with the royal family? Let us know what you think, and be sure to tell your friends and family about Lili’s birthday.
