Harry and Meghan Naming Lilibet After the Queen Didn’t Upset Her But One Gesture Did, Says Source

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry chose to honor Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana by naming their daughter Lilibeth Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. However, reports soon emerged that the couple upset the late Queen in the process, who allegedly felt they had 'stolen' the only thing that was truly hers — her childhood nickname. A source has now clarified that the former monarch wasn't angry at Lilibet being named after her, but rather how the Sussexes went about it.

Contradictory claims emerged after Princess Lilibet’s birth on June 4, 2021. According to the Daily Express, while her parents claimed the late sovereign was ‘supportive’ of their decision to use her childhood name, royal author Robert Hardman alleged that the Queen was the most ‘angry’ he had ever seen. In his book, Charles III: New King, New Court, Hardman quoted the Queen as having said, “I don't own the palaces or the paintings, only my name, and now they've taken that.” However, now, an insider recently told the Daily Mail that it was instead a move by Harry and Markle that made the Queen angry.

The source spilled that the Sussexes informed the Queen about their daughter’s name rather than seeking her permission. They said, “Harry and Meghan presented this to the Queen as: 'We're going to call her Lilibet. Isn't that great?” The insider continued, “The palace version was that they didn't ask. The Queen was asked to prop up their version of events that didn't match her own. She wasn't furious about using the name Lilibet, it was the way it was handled.” For the unversed, Queen Elizabeth, as a toddler, could not pronounce her name and called herself Lilibet. The name stuck, with her grandfather addressing her with it. Later, it was the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, who lovingly used the moniker.

In the aftermath of the controversy surrounding Lilibet's naming, The Sussexes sent a legal letter to publications, including the BBC, over their 'false' claims about the fallout between them and the Queen over Lilibet's name.

Interestingly, Markle, in a recent episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, offered expectant parents a piece of advice about naming their babies. She said, “I will say this to every woman in the world or every person in the world who's going to have a child — if you have an idea about what you are going to name that baby, you keep it so close to your heart until that baby is born and it's named. Don't ask anyone's opinion.” Royal watchers believe her statement was a subtle dig at the late Queen, an addressing of the controversy surrounding Lilibet’s name.