Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce birth of baby daughter Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are celebrating the arrival of their baby daughter, who they have named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
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Hide AdMeghan gave birth to her second child on Friday, June 4, at 11.40am at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara.
The baby – a younger sister for the Sussexes’ two-year-old son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor – weighed 7lbs 11oz.
Middle name honours Princess Diana
A statement from the couple’s press secretary said: “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.
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Hide Ad“Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11.40am in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California.
“She weighed 7lbs 11oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home.
“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet.
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Hide Ad“Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honour her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.
“This is the second child for the couple, who also have a two-year-old son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
“The Duke and Duchess thank you for your warm wishes and prayers as they enjoy this special time as a family.”
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Hide AdHarry and Meghan revealed they were expecting a girl in March during their explosive tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.
It was a lighter moment during a series of bombshells that left the monarchy in crisis.
Meghan accused an unnamed member of the royal family – not the Queen nor Duke of Edinburgh – of racism, saying they expressed concern about how dark Archie’s skin tone might be before he was born.
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Hide AdThe duchess also called out the institution for not helping her when she was suicidal.
The Queen responded by saying the issues were taken “very seriously” but that “some recollections may vary” and the matter would addressed by the family privately.
Queen’s 11th great-grandchild
The new baby is the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild – poignantly the first of the monarch and Philip’s great-grandchildren to be born since the death of the duke in April.
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Hide AdBut with the Sussexes living in California and amid troubled relationships with their family, it is not known when or if the new addition will meet the Queen and the rest of the royals.
Harry has gone on to accuse the royal family of “total neglect” when his wife Meghan was feeling suicidal amid harassment on social media.
In his Apple TV mental health series, he lambasted the parenting skills of the Prince of Wales, criticising his father for expecting his sons to endure the pressures of royal life, just as Charles has done, instead of protecting them.
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Hide AdJust like Archie was not entitled to be a prince nor an HRH when he was born in 2018, the Sussexes’ daughter is not permitted to be a princess nor an HRH due to rules set down more than 100 years ago by George V.
Meghan controversially claimed during her Oprah broadcast that Archie had his right to be a prince taken away from him because of his race.
In fact, he was too far removed from the crown because although he is a great-grandchild of a sovereign, he is not the “eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales” as George V’s rules required.
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Hide AdThe new baby will be entitled to be a princess and Archie a prince – both with HRH styles – after the death of the Queen and when Charles becomes king.
This is because they will have moved up the line of succession to become the children of a son of a monarch.
Despite Harry and Meghan quitting as senior working royals, the baby still has a place in the line of succession.
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Hide AdShe is eighth in line to the throne, coming after Archie, who is seventh in line, and before the Duke of York, who has dropped to ninth place.
The new baby is also a first cousin of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and a fifth grandchild for Charles, but will grow up across the Atlantic, thousands of miles away from the royal family – at a time of heartbreak and division within the Windsors.
Additional reporting by PA