Earlier this month the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they had named their first daughter Lilibet 'Lily' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. One would think that the name for a newborn baby would lead to an outpouring of universal support, but there have been weeks of controversy concerning the name's origins. Here's what's going on.
It started with the statement. 'Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet,' it read. The Queen's late father and husband were among those to call her Lilibet. 'Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honour her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.'
'Lilibet' may not be a common name, but it was familiar to royal watchers. Prince Philip - the character, that is, rather than the real life Duke - is frequently heard calling his wife by that name in The Crown. Clearly writer Peter Morgan had done his research.
Then, in the day that followed, claims were made to the BBC that Harry and Meghan had not asked the Queen her opinion on the baby being named Lilibet. But Omid Scobie, a close friend of the Sussexes and author of Finding Freedom, a biography on the couple, has denied this - saying the Queen was the first person they called after the birth of Lilibet.
He tweeted, 'A Sussex source says that the Queen was the first family Harry called after Lilibet's birth and during that conversation, he shared the couple's hope of naming their daughter in her honor. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.
'Those close to Prince Harry confirm that he spoke to close family before the announcement so perhaps this report highlights just how far removed aides within the institution (who learned of the baby news alongside the rest of the world) now are from the Sussexes' private matters.'
Lawyers were consulted, attacking the BBC for spreading what reps for Harry and Meghan called 'false and derogatory' claims.
The plot thickened this week, when debates swirled over whether Harry and Meghan sought permission from The Queen or merely informed her of the choice (not that one should need permission for a baby name, of course). The conversation began to centre around the couple registering a domain name - LilibetDiana.com - four days before Lili's birth. Some have wondered if that means Harry did not tell The Queen before they made their choice, but a spokesman for the couple has told The Telegraph that this domain was one of several registered, before they made their choice. 'As is often customary with public figures, a significant number of domains of any potential names that were considered were purchased... to protect against the exploitation of the name once it was later chosen and shared.' So, if The Queen had asked them to reconsider the name, then they would have had other options. We wonder what they were!
What is the meaning of 'Lilibet'?
As a nickname of Elizabeth, 'Lilibet' naturally shares its meaning: it comes from the Hebrew for 'God is my oath', an apt name for a future monarch, especially when you consider that Elizabeth's parents did not know that their eldest would eventually become Queen. King George VI, The Queen's father, used to say that 'Lilibet is my pride. Margaret is my joy.' No one has ever called The Queen 'Lilibeth': this is a different, perfectly valid derivative but isn't correct in this case.
Harry and Meghan announced they were expecting a baby on Valentine's Day. And in a sweet nod to Harry's late mother, the pair broke the news with a gorgeous photo, 37 years after Princess Diana announced she was pregnant with Harry.
There had long been rumours that the couple might call their second child Diana, as they confirmed during their Oprah interview that Meghan was expecting a baby girl. (Harry adorably said his first thought after seeing the ultrasound was that it was 'amazing. Just grateful—to have any child, any one of two, would have been amazing, but to have a boy and then a girl, what more can you ask for? Now we’ve got our family—we’ve got the four of us and our two dogs.')
There were also rumours that the baby might be called Philippa, in a tribute to Prince Philip, who recently passed away. (In fact, Ladbrokes slashed the betting odds on the name to 3/1.) Princess Eugenie and Zara Tindall - Harry's cousins - both paid tribute to their grandfather just before his death by giving their newborn sons Philip as a middle name.
Some did also predict that Harry and Meghan were going to pay tribute to the Queen. Other names suggested by bookies included Victoria, Allegra, Alexandria, Rose, Alice and Emma.
It's also expected that the second child won't get a title, as Archie goes without one. And in Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview, Meghan claimed that the royal family actually prevented Archie from having a title, saying: 'They were saying they didn’t want him [Archie] to be a prince or princess, which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn’t going to receive security.'
What is Princess Charlotte's full name?
Naturally, this is not the first time a member of the royal family has paid tribute to the late Diana when naming their children. William, Duke of Cambridge, named his little girl Charlotte Elizabeth Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. So both daughters of Diana's two sons acknowledge both her and their great grandmother The Queen. Sweet.
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