Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were royally inspired when choosing a name for their baby girl!
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the arrival of daughter Lilibet Diana on Sunday, revealing in a statement that the newborn’s first name is a tribute to the Queen’s family nickname, while Diana honors Harry’s beloved late mother, the Princess of Wales.
Meghan and Harry aren’t the first royal couple to commemorate the two icons when naming their children. Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 6-year-old daughter, Princess Charlotte, has both Elizabeth and Diana as middle names.
As for Meghan and Harry’s choice to use “Lilibet” instead of the Queen’s full first name, the reference is actually quite a personal one.
The Queen is said to have started calling herself Lilibet after she couldn’t pronounce “Elizabeth” as a child, and her parents and grandparents began using it affectionately from then on. Her father, King George VI, is famously quoted as saying of his two daughters, “Lilibet is my pride. Margaret is my joy.”
The moniker later became a term of endearment from the monarch’s husband, Prince Philip. At his funeral in April, the Queen reportedly placed a handwritten note on his coffin with “Lilibet” as her signature. It is believed Philip was the last person to call her by that name, but it isn’t gone forever — she can now use it lovingly for her new great-granddaughter.
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