Why did Harry and Meghan name their daughter Lilibet? A peek into her name as she turns two today

On June 4, two years ago, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California.

Royal guards eagerly awaited what the name of Harry and Meghan’s second child would be, and in just two days they had their answer.

The couple shared the happy news in a statement through their Archwell foundation, saying: “It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcome their daughter, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. in the world. .

She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and feel at home.

Lili was named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen in honor of her late beloved grandmother, the Princess of Wales.”

A personal message from the couple about their newborn daughter read: “She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we have felt from all over the world. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”

While waiting for her birth, bookies favored Philippa after Prince Philip’s recent death, along with Diana, Elizabeth, Allegra and Alexandra.

Lilibet’s name still had a deep sentimental meaning, but it was a tribute to two other members of the royal family.

Why did Harry and Meghan choose the name Lilibet?

Lilibet’s first name is in honor of her late great-grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen, whose family nickname was Lilibet.

The name was first used when the young Princess Elizabeth was just a toddler and could not pronounce her name correctly.

From then on, the term of endearment stuck, and the Queen’s father, King George VI, is said to have said, “Lilibet is my pride.” Margaret is my joy.’

The Queen’s child name was also used by her late husband, Prince Philip, who died on April 9, 2021 after 73 years of marriage.

However, Harry and Meghan revealed that they would refer to their daughter as Lili – a playful modernization of the sentimental family name.

It is also believed that Lilibet’s nickname, Lili, may have been inspired by Meghan’s name of affection from her mother, Doria Ragland, who would call her “Flower” as a child.

The name Lilibet, or Lili, comes from Hebrew and means ‘oath of God’, which is meant as a reminder of the promise of love and hope in the world.

According to Gyles Brandreth’s book ‘Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait’, the late Harry and Meghan took the ‘compliment’ of naming their daughter Lilibet.

Mr Brandreth added that the Queen accepted the choice ‘with good grace’.

Why choose Diana as a middle name?

The young princess’s middle name pays homage to Harry’s late mother and Lilibet’s late grandmother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997 in a car accident in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris when Harry was just 12.

“Her middle name, Diana, was chosen in honor of her late beloved grandmother, the Princess of Wales,” said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Speaking on “The Me You Can’t See,” an Apple TV+ documentary series, which aired in May 2021, Harry said, “My mom would be incredibly proud of me. I’m living the life she wanted to live for herself,

“I’ve never felt her presence like I’ve felt in the past year.”

Lili’s cousin, Princess Charlotte, also has Diana as one of her middle names, her full name being Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.

Why the surname Mountbatten-Windsor?

Like her brother, Archie, Lilibet has the hyphenated surname Mountbatten-Windsor, which was created to combine the names of the late Queen and Prince Philip.

After their wedding in 1960, the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh sought to distinguish their direct descendants from the rest of the House of Windsor.

Philip’s surname Mountbatten had been a thorny issue for the royals in the past.

The late Prince was keen for their children to take Mountbatten and famously exclaimed, “I am nothing but a bloody amoeba if I am refused.”

“I’m the only man in the country who can’t give his name to his own children.”

So it was decided that the Queen’s descendants, except those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince or Princess, should bear the name Mountbatten-Windsor.

Does Lilibet have an official title?

King George V restricted family titles during World War I. He decreed that only the children of the monarch’s sons – as well as the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales – could use both the titles His Royal Highness as ‘prince’ or ‘princess’.

According to the rules, only Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s eldest son, Prince George – as the monarch’s great-grandson in the direct line of succession to the throne – were originally entitled to be princes.

But before George’s birth in 2013, the Queen stepped in to issue a Letters Patent so that all of the future monarch Prince William’s children would have appropriate titles.

After birth, Lilibet was known as simply Miss, unlike William’s children, who could use the titles Prince and Princess.

Harry’s children could not use the title during the Queen’s lifetime, as he was not the grandson of a monarch, but after Charles ascended to the throne, Lilibet and her brother automatically became Prince and Princess.

The pair were officially recognized as Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie in March this year – something Harry and Meghan decided was their children’s “birthright.”

A spokesperson for the Sussexes said: ‘The children’s titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch. This matter has been settled for some time in coordination with Buckingham Palace.’

While it is clear that the title will be used in formal situations, it will not be used in everyday conversation by the couple.

Harry and Meghan are understood not to want to deny their children their titles, but to give them the chance to decide for themselves when they are older whether to drop them or keep using them.

So it’s up to Lilibet if she wants to describe herself as a princess.