It’s been one week since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their second child, a baby girl they named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. While Meghan and Harry claimed that they had asked the Queen first before naming their daughter her nickname, a palace source has since told the BBC that they never actually asked for permission.
Now, royal expert Rebecca English is speaking out to say that the royal family is finally “standing up” to Meghan and Harry in this clash.
“Absolutely, it is really significant,” she said of the palace’s response, according to The Express. “The BBC’s report produced an absolutely stinging response from the Sussexes. First through a spokesman saying the Queen was the first person they called and that they would not have gone ahead with the name if the Queen was not supportive.”
“But then, through their lawyers, they issued a legal warning, describing the BBC piece as defamatory,” she added. “We don’t know whether this is a deliberate leak by Buckingham Palace or the Royal Family or if it’s a courtier whose gone slightly rogue. When I asked the Palace, nobody there was knocking it down or disagreeing with what the BBC had to say so that does add a lot of credibility to the report. The BBC is absolutely standing by their story. Who knows whether this will go?”
The Queen was given the nickname “Lilibet” when she was a toddler because that was how she pronounced her name, as she could not pronounce “Elizabeth.” The nickname was used by her grandfather King George V and also by her late husband, Prince Philip, who died just two months ago. Renowned royal expert Ingrid Seward has said that the Queen is likely “confused” by the decision to name her great-grandchild Lilibet.
“How charming that Harry and Meghan have decided to call their daughter Lilibet or Lily as a compliment to the Queen,” Seward said. “But how strange as they profess to want to remove themselves from royal life that they have chosen to use such an intimate royal nickname for their daughter.”
“It was affectionately used by only her parents and her husband,” she added. “But I am certain she will be pleased and perhaps a little confused that Prince Harry has decided to use this name.”
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