Queen Elizabeth’s Swipe at Prince Harry and Meghan

Queen Elizabeth II felt Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had taken “the only thing I own” after they named their daughter in tribute to her childhood nickname.

Behind palace walls, the royals nicknamed the late monarch Lilibet dating back to when she was a young child and mispronounced Elizabeth.

In June 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex named their daughter Princess Lilibet in tribute and their team briefed journalists they had spoken to the queen in advance.

Queen Elizabeth II is pictured alongside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a composite image. The monarch was reportedly angry over Harry and Meghan’s use of her childhood nickname Lilibet for their daughter. ANDREW MATTHEWS – WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES/GARETH CATTERMOLE/GETTY IMAGES
However, an argument blew up after a palace briefing to the BBC that Elizabeth “was not asked” for permission by the couple.

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Now, the Daily Mail reports that after learning about the name, the queen said: “I don’t own the palaces, I don’t own the paintings, the only thing I own is my name. And now they’ve taken that.”

The revelation comes after Daily Mail feature writer Robert Hardman’s new book The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy contained a quote from a palace aide who said the queen was “as angry as I’d ever seen her” over the saga.

The book suggests her fury was sparked by briefings given to news organizations, including U.K. broadsheet The Times and Vanity Fair, by Harry and Meghan’s office that the prince had told his grandmother in advance.

The palace’s clapback via the BBC prompted the Sussexes’ spokesperson to release a further statement saying that if Elizabeth had objected they would not have gone ahead with the name.

Hardman’s version is a little more extreme than a previous account of the queen’s reaction in Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, a previous biography by Gyles Brandreth.

Brandreth wrote: “According to the Sussexes, Harry sought his grandmother’s permission to use her intimate family nickname as the Christian name for her eleventh great-grandchild.

“The Queen’s recollection was a little different. According to the Queen, Harry told her the Sussexes wanted to call the baby ‘Lilibet’ in her honor and she accepted their choice with a good grace, taking it as the compliment it was intended to be.

“Others in the family found the choice ‘bewildering’ and ‘rather presumptuous’ given that ‘Lilibet’ as a name had always been intimately and exclusively the Queen’s.

“Later the Queen said, ‘I hear they’re calling her ‘Lili’ which is very pretty and seems just right.'”

Brandreth’s version does appear to indicate the queen had some reservations, and perhaps she might well have liked “Lili” because it was different to Lilibet.

However, there is nothing in Brandreth’s version to suggest the strength of feeling indicated by Hardman’s book.

Harry and Meghan’s office released a statement in June 2021 confirming Princess Lilibet’s birth which read: “Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”