Queen was so upset by naming of Lilibet she told aides ‘the only thing I own is my name, and now they’ve taken that’
15 January 2024, 21:53 | Updated: 16 January 2024, 08:37
Harry and Meghan’s decision to name their daughter after the Queen's nickname Lilibet left the late monarch so upset she felt her name had been ‘taken’, sources have claimed.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
While many of the late Queen’s relatives have passed down the name Elizabeth to their children, often through middle names, using the name Lilibet may have been one step too far.
Lilibet was a nickname used for the late Queen by close friends and family.
So when Harry and Meghan gave their daughter the same name, Queen Elizabeth reportedly told aides, according to the MailOnline: “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 dispute over the young royal’s name was reignited this week due to reports in Robert Hardman’s book, titled Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story is currently being serialised in the outlet.
One staff member claimed that the long-time monarch was "as angry as I'd ever seen her" after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex publicly said that she was supportive of their child taking her nickname.
The royal pair said the late Queen had been supportive of the name choice in a statement reacting to reports that the Queen had ‘never’ been consulted about Lilibet’s name.
Read more: Queen's final moments: Her Majesty 'wouldn't have been aware of anything' as she 'slipped away'
Read More: William's fury over Harry's 'lowest of the low' attack on Kate
A spokesman for the Sussexes denounced the reports too, adding that the Queen was the first family member to be told of Lilibet’s birth.
In that conversation, the spokesman said Harry “shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name”.
The Sussexes also reportedly ordered aggressive libel lawyers at Schillings to write to media sources including the BBC to shut down claims.
But now sources have claimed that while the Queen may have been consulted about the name, she ‘didn’t feel she could say no’.
Robert Hardman reportedly says in his new book that despite this, Buckingham Palace refused to be ‘co-opted’ into ‘propping up’ Harry and Meghan’s version of events.
Harry and Meghan's decision to call their new daughter Lilibet, who was born in California and has only once briefly been to the UK, was a topic of discussion in the days following her birth.
The latest revelations come after the late Queen's death at Balmoral on September 8, 2022, was described as "very peaceful" in a memo written by her private secretary.
The note also reveals that the late monarch "wouldn't have been aware of anything", according to the Mail.
Private secretary Sir Edward Young wrote: "Very peaceful. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn't have been aware of anything. No pain."
