The late Queen Elizabeth was reportedly furious after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle publicly claimed the monarch had given her blessing to name their daughter Lilibet, a new book reveals.
Robert Hardman’s new biography, Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story, serialised in the Daily Mail reveals that one member of staff said that Queen Elizabeth was “as angry as I’d ever seen her” after the Sussexes’ comments.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their baby daughter in 2021 in California and named the young royal Lilibet. Lilibet was the Queen’s nickname and it is believed it originated when young Elizabeth could not pronounce her name as a child.
It was reported at the time by the BBC that, contrary to what Harry and Meghan have said, the Queen was not asked for her blessing to use the name. Other reports claimed that while the Queen was contacted by her grandson, she was not in the position to say no.
However, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess hit back at these claims and said that the pair would not have used the name if the monarch had not been “supportive”.
A spokesperson said at the time: “The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement – in fact his grandmother was the first family member he called. During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.”