Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan Markle, 42, “100% got permission” from the late Queen Elizabeth II to name their daughter Lilibet, if we are to believe a royal insider.
This is very different to what has been claimed in royal biographer Robert Hardman’s new book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, which is being serialized in the Daily Mail. Hardman wrote that a former member of the late Queen’s staff “privately recalled” that she was “as angry as I’d ever seen her” after the Sussexes publicly claimed that she gave them her blessing to name their daughter Lilibet.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed daughter Princess Lilibet Diana in June 2021. When announcing her birth on their Archewell website, they said she was named after her great-grandmother, "whose family nickname is Lilibet." The name Lilibet was given to the late Queen by her father, as that is how she pronounced her own name when she was a young child. It was reportedly also an affectionate nickname used by her late husband, Prince Philip.
There were some reports back in 2021 that the Sussexes *hadn't* actually received the Queen's blessing, which the couple reportedly tried to take legal action against at the time. As per the excerpt, Hardman wrote: "The couple subsequently fired off warnings of legal action against anyone who dared to suggest otherwise, as the BBC had done. However, when the Sussexes tried to co-opt the Palace into propping up their version of events, they were rebuffed. Once again, it was a case of 'recollections may vary' – the late Queen's reaction to the Oprah Winfrey interview – as far as Her Majesty was concerned."
Did Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Get The Late Queen Elizabeth II's Permission To Name Their Daughter Lilibet?
"Meghan and Harry 100 percent got permission from the Queen to use the name Lilibet," a royal insider reportedly told Us Weekly, according to an article published on January 16th. "The report is not true. [Harry and Meghan] don't know where this is coming from." The insider added: "They're shocked that this is coming now; it seems out of nowhere and out of left field. They just feel like it's more of the same smear campaign that continues against them."
The insider also noted that "multiple people are aware" that Prince Harry and Meghan got the Queen's blessing, and "they feel it's convenient [that] this is surfacing now when the queen is not here to defend herself and can't say what is true or false."
Omid Scobie, who dropped many bombshells about the royal family in his new book Endgame, also came to the couple's defense. "None of these Lilibet 'revelations' are doing the late Queen Elizabeth II any favors," he wrote on X on Tuesday, January 16th. "Not only do they contradict details shared by the Palace with a cooperatively written biography in 2022 (see pic), they also depict the monarch in a way the public haven't known her to be."
Scobie also included screenshots of a Daily Mail excerpt from Gyles Brandreth's 2022 book, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, which confirmed that the late Queen took her great-granddaughter's name as "the compliment it was intended to be."
Many people have spoken out about their disapproval of the name Lilibet over the years, including royal correspondent Camilla Tominey. In a Telegraph article published on Tuesday, January 16th, she described Prince Harry and Meghan using the name Lilibet as a "final insult to Queen Elizabeth." She referenced that up 'til their daughter's birth, "the name was associated with only one woman in the world," and they took that from her.
Insiders Previously Claimed Harry And Meghan 'Would Not Have Used' The Name Lilibet Had The Queen 'Not Been Supportive'
Insiders previously explained how Prince Harry and Meghan came to name their daughter Lilibet. "They had a shortlist with a few other options, but [Lilibet] was always their favorite," an insider previously told Us Weekly. "It was important for them that the Queen signed off though, and that didn't happen until right before the birth. They both agreed it would only be right if Her Majesty gave her approval, especially with something so personal."
Back in 2021, a palace rep also explained not only where the name came from, but how the late Queen was consulted about the name. "The Duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement, in fact his grandmother was the first family member he called," the rep said in June 2021. "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."
