The Duke and Duchess of Sussex—known to most of us as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle—are now parents of a baby daughter. True to form, the couple made the announcement with more than a few coded messages to the UK royals woven in.
“It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world,” a statement from the press secretary for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said Sunday. “… Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home.” According to the announcement, the baby was born on Friday, June 4, at 11:40 am at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital near their $14 million-dollar California home.
Royal-watchers had speculated that the child’s name could include a nod to Prince Harry’s mother, the tragic and beloved Princess Diana, and the middle name did not disappoint. However, the first name was a choice that almost no one saw coming. “Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet,” the statement explained.
The gesture could be seen as an olive branch at a time when royal relations are at a crisis point. Since quitting their royal duties in January of last year, Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, have continued to make headlines with bombshell revelations about their time behind the palace gates. Queen Elizabeth, 95, and the rest of the family also are reeling from the death of her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on April 9.
“Lili” will be little sister to the couple’s son, Archie, 2.
