Lilibet at last gets a place in Royal line
PRINCE Harry’s daughter Lilibet has been added to the line of succession on the Royal Family’s website – seven weeks after her birth.
Buckingham Palace yesterday ended weeks of feverish speculation about why the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter, who is eighth in line to the throne, had not been included.
Some believed it was because she had not yet been Christened or because of continuing tensions between Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, and the rest of the family.
But the truth was rather more straightforward, according to senior Palace sources.
There is not enough cash from the £85.9million the Queen receives from the taxpayer to employ enough staff on the website.
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“It is updated periodically,” a Palace spokesman said.
Aides update the front page with video and announcements about the activities of working members of the Royal Family but other parts of the website receive less regular attention.
Lilibet, who was born on June 4, will almost certainly never undertake official duties.
She is not alone in having to wait.
It took the website more than seven years to recognise Zara and Mike Tindall’s daughter Mia, who is now 21st in line to the throne.
And the Duchess of York was still listed as a member of the Royal Family until quite recently, even though she ceased to be one after her divorce from Prince Andrew in 1996.
Even so, supporters of Harry and Meghan have insisted that it was a calculated snub.