Delighted with Lili
The Queen and other British royals come together to express happiness at the birth of Prince Harry’s daughter
Queen Elizabeth II is delighted by the birth of her 11th grandchild — the daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The baby has been named Lilibet, in a tribute to the Queen, while her middle name, Diana, honours Prince Harry’s late mother, Lady Diana, the ‘People’s Princess.’
Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born at a hospital in Santa Barbara, on Friday morning. Both mother and baby are well, and settling in at home.
‘Lilibet’ was the name coined by the Queen’s grandfather, King George V, imitating her childish attempts to pronounce ‘Elizabeth’, and that was what she came to be affectionately called, even by her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh.
Despite all the animosity and rancour that was generated by events following Prince Harry’s marriage with Meghan Markle, culminating in a ‘tell-all’ interview with Oprah Winfrey not long ago, the British royals came through for the latest addition to the extended family. ‘Delight’ was their uniform response.
A report in The Sun quoting a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, said: “The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been informed and are delighted with the news of the birth of a daughter for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.” Baby Lili is eighth in the line of succession to the British throne. She is immediately preceded by her older brother Archie.
In light of Lilibet’s arrival, Prince William and Kate released a statement alongside the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, congratulating the couple on their family of four. “We are all delighted by the happy news of the arrival of baby Lili. Congratulations to Harry, Meghan and Archie,” Prince William and Duchess Kate wrote on their official Instagram account.