16 January 2024 , 14:23
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Prince Harry’s baby name drama has reportedly deepened the rift between him and his estranged family, a royal expert claimed.
The 39-year-old was involved in yet another royal row when it emerged in a new book, Charles III: New King. New Court, that Queen Elizabeth was "angry" over the news Harry and Meghan Markle had named their second born child, daughter Princess Lilibet, back in June 2021. The name was a tribute to the late Queen’s childhood nickname, but a Buckingham Palace staffer told royal biographer Robert Hardman the monarch was annoyed by the apparent tribute, which was described in the new book.
The comments have only inflamed the ongoing war of words between the Duke of Sussex and senior members of the Royal Family, despite a brief respite between Harry and King Charles, who reportedly made amends in a sweet phone call for his birthday last year. However, one extract from the new book has once again stoked tensions, and it was claimed a royal staffer recalled the Queen was "as angry as I'd ever seen her" when it was announced Harry and Meghan had called their daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
READ MORE: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'sent legal threats' as Queen fumed over Lilibet's name
Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was named after important women in Harry's life (Misan Harriman/Duke and Duchess of Sussex HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Harry and Meghan paid a sweet tribute to the late Queen by naming their daughter in honour of her (Getty Images)It was alleged the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are also parents to Prince Archie, 4, had received the Queen’s blessing to use the name Lilibet for their daughter. However, it has since been claimed by several insiders that the couple stunned the Royal Family with their decision to name their daughter in honour of the Queen, as well as a sweet nod to Harry’s late mother Diana.
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Back in 2015, there was no outrage when it was announced Prince William and Kate Middleton had named their daughter Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, after both the Queen and the Princess of Wales. It was also suggested the name Charlotte was a tribute to William’s father Charles, but the couple did not find themselves embroiled in a huge row over their daughter’s name - unlike Harry and Meghan.
Harry had a very close bond with his beloved grandmother (Getty Images)Royal expert Afua Hagan slammed the comments published in the new book as "mean", and said the fresh scandal will only "stoke up those tensions" between Harry and his estranged family. "It's a bit mean really because she's only little and it's the baby's name. At the time, and I feel it now, it's quite sweet to name someone after their grandmother," she told Newsweek.
She claimed the gesture by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was “sweet”, but nobody will ever know if the Queen was displeased by them using her childhood nickname "because she's not here with us anymore and so will never go on record saying one thing or the other." The discussion has no doubt intensified the bitter row between Harry and his family, and will lead to "more divisions between Prince Harry and the rest of his family unfortunately", as well as diminish any hope of a reconciliation.