Inside Harry and Meghan's row with the royal family over daughter Lilibet's name

15 January 2024 , 13:03

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Princess Lilibet was named after the late Queen's intimate nickname

Prince Harry's row with the Royal Family over his daughter Lilibet's name has been hitting the headlines after an author claimed that the late Queen was "furious" over the couple's daughter being named after her.

In 2021, when Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born, it was reported that Queen Elizabeth "was not asked by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex about naming their daughter Lilibet," as per a Palace source. Not only this, but eyebrows were risen around the world due to the intimate meaning behind the name.

Amid reports, at the time, that claimed the couple had spoken to the Queen ahead of Lilibet's birth and naming, a source from the Palace disputed the claims to the BBC.

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The Sussexes shocked the world when they named their daughter Lilibet (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Lilibet was born in 2021 (alexilubomirski/Instagram)

But a spokesperson for the Sussexes insisted they would not have used the name had the Queen not been supportive. The spokesperson said: "The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement - in fact, his grandmother was the first family member he called.

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"During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name."

And now it has been claimed that Queen Elizabeth was "infuriated" by Harry and Meghan's claim that she had given her blessing to their daughter being named Lilibet, which was the Queen's affectionate childhood nickname given to her.

The late monarch was referred to as Lilibet by her father King George VI, the Queen Mother, and her sister, Princess Margaret, as well as her husband, Prince Philip. Some of her close friends also used the sweet and meaningful nickname.

According to Daily Mail writer Robert Hardman's new biography, Charles III: New King, New Court, he pens: "One privately recalled that Elizabeth II had been 'as angry as I'd ever seen her' in 2021 after the Sussexes announced that she had given them her blessing to call their baby daughter 'Lilibet', the Queen's childhood nickname.

"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."

Mollie Quirk