New Book Reveals How Queen Elizabeth Felt When She First Met Princess Lilibet
The heartfelt moment between Elizabeth and Lilibet was also mentioned in Harry's memoir, Spare.
Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from their royal duties in 2020, they have raised their kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, largely outside the traditional royal environment. This has resulted in limited contact with other senior family members. It is also worth mentioning that the Sussex family has rarely visited the U.K. since then, mainly due to security concerns. Now, a new royal book has offered a rare glimpse into a private moment, revealing how 'thrilled' Queen Elizabeth II was when she first met her great-granddaughter, Lilibet.
The special moment came during the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022, when almost the entire Royal Family gathered together to celebrate and honor her legacy. At the time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also returned to Britain with both their kids. Mentioning this special moment in his upcoming book titled 'Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. Her Story’, author Robert Hardman wrote, "The Queen would finally get to meet Lilibet and was thrilled, say friends, as the 1-year-old crawled around her feet," as reported by People Magazine.
However, unfortunately, this was the only time Elizabeth met the little Princess, as the Queen died just months later on September 8, 2022, at age 96. The touching moment between the grandmother and the great-granddaughter was also mentioned in Harry's controversial memoir Spare. He wrote, "I also couldn’t stop picturing [the children] with Granny. The final visit. Archie making deep, chivalrous bows, his baby sister Lilibet cuddling the monarch’s shins. 'Sweetest children,' Granny said, sounding bemused. She’d expected them to be a bit more…American, I think? Meaning, in her mind, more rambunctious."
Further in his memoir, the Duke recalled his own playful moments with the late monarch from his childhood days. He even spoke about the beautiful bond they shared and wrote, "In every photo of us, whenever we’re exchanging a glance, making solid eye contact, it’s clear: We had secrets." The late monarch was blessed to have 12 great-grandchildren, including Prince William and Kate Middleton's kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, and for all of them, she had a final wish. In his book, Hardman reveals that Elizabeth wanted all her great-grandchildren to join her at Balmoral Castle during her final days.
The author wrote, "The Queen wanted all the great-grandchildren to come up to Balmoral at some point over that summer, even if the Sussexes might not be able to make it. 'She wanted to make sure that they all had a really happy memory of her,' explained a friend of the family." As reported by Fox News, another popular royal expert, Richard Fitzwilliams, also spoke of this and said that the late monarch was well aware that her time was near and wanted all her great-grandchildren to have a 'happy memory' of her. However, at the time, Harry and Meghan were in California with their kids.
