Did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle lie to Queen Elizabeth about their
plans to pay tribute to her with their daughter's name?
Rumors are swirling that they might not have told the Queen the whole truth.
Meghan and Harry's daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born in June 2021. She
was named Lilibet in tribute to Queen Elizabeth, supposedly with the monarch's blessing – but
according to a BBC report, the Sussexes might not have sought the Queen's permission after all.
Ever since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their second child into the world,
there have been conflicting reports about how Queen Elizabeth feels about the little girl
being named after her. The official word was that she was "delighted" by the news
that her 11th great-grandchild's moniker paid homage to her childhood nickname of "Lilibet."
Lilibet is what the Queen's grandfather, King George V, called her when she was just a toddler,
an affectionate pet name that reflected the future sovereign's early attempts
to say "Elizabeth." The misnomer stuck, and spread around the family; reportedly,
the late Prince Philip also referred to his wife, the queen, with the name Lilibet.
Prior to Meghan and Harry's return visit to Great Britain in 2022,
Buckingham Palace declared that Her Majesty was pleased with Meghan and Harry's decision
to name Archie's little sister after her, and that the couple had Queen Elizabeth's
blessing to call her Lilibet. But according to a BBC story written by royal correspondent
Jonny Dymond, the reality was that she knew nothing about their plans ahead of time.
Soon after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's daughter was born,
a spokesperson for the new parents announced,
"The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement — in fact, his grandmother
was the first family member he called. During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their
daughter Lilibet in her honor. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name."
At the time, royal commentator Louise Roberts went on record to dispute the validity of the claim.
"Other suggestions out of the UK are that she is not
entirely happy with them hijacking her pet name."
Roberts suggested that Harry and Meghan could have simply named their second born
"Elizabeth," as opposed to legally naming her after the Queen's nickname.
In response to the BBC's story about the Queen being blindsided by the name choice,
the Duke and Duchess of Sussex rejected the reporting. The couple even went so
far as to file a lawsuit against the BBC, calling the story "false and defamatory."
The truth, according to some sources, may be somewhere in the middle.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in June 2022, royal insider Nicky Haslam, an interior designer,
says the phone call between Prince Harry and his grandmother indeed took place,
but not in the way that was previously reported. The insider told the publication,
"I heard [Harry] rang her and said: 'We want to call our daughter after you,
Granny.' She said: 'How charming of you, thank you.'"
The misunderstanding, according to Haslam, was that Her Majesty thought the name the Sussexes
were choosing would be her full name of Elizabeth, not her nickname, Lilibet.
As the source put it to the Daily Mail,
"They got the permission, but they didn't say the name."
Given all the versions of what transpired between Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth surrounding the
naming of his second child with Meghan Markle, one has to wonder why it matters so much.
NBC News royal commentator Daisy McAndrew explained the matter to
Today back in June of 2021, describing the name "Lilibet" as an exceptionally personal
nickname – almost one of a kind, until Meghan and Harry's daughter came along.
"In a way, it's not a real name at all, and it is totally synonymous with the queen."
After her great-granddaughter took on the name Lilibet,
the nickname no longer belonged solely to Her Majesty – and not everyone is happy about it.
Another controversy surrounding the two Lilibets involves the Queen's reported denial of a photo
opportunity for the Sussexes and their daughter during Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
In June, it was reported that there was "no chance" Her Majesty would be photographed
with her great-granddaughter, out of fears that the photo would find
its way from Meghan and Harry's personal photographer into the hands of the media.
We might never know for sure just how Queen Elizabeth herself
feels about her great-granddaughter's name, or if she was misled about it. But the fact
that there are rumors swirling about the matter at all seems to make it clear that
the rift between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family is still an ocean wide.
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