THE DUKE AND Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, are celebrating the arrival of their baby daughter, who they have named Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
Meghan gave birth to her second child on Friday morning in Santa Barbara.
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.
“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.”
They said mother and baby are both healthy and well and settling in at home.
“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet,” the statement said.
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.”
Harry 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.
The 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.
The new baby is the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild and the first of the monarch and Philip’s great-grandchildren to be born since the death of the duke in April.
But 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.
Just 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.
Despite Harry and Meghan quitting as senior working royals, the baby still has a place in the line of succession.
She 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.
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