Prince Harry: Queen for his daughter’s name, Lillipet

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan have defended themselves against allegations that they ignored Queen Elizabeth II when naming their daughter Lillipet. The 95-year-old king has been nicknamed Lilibet within the family since childhood. “The Duke (Harry) spoke with his family prior to the announcement, his grandmother was the first family member to contact him,” a spokeswoman for the couple said on Thursday.

The spokeswoman added that during this conversation he had expressed his hope that the girl would be named Lilibet in honor of his grandmother. “If she hadn’t supported that, they wouldn’t have used the name,” she added. And the BBC had reported earlier, quoting circles in the palace, that the couple did not include the Queen in the decision. The palace did not want to comment on the matter.

The daughter of Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, who goes by the name Diana as well as Lillipet, was born last Friday in a California clinic. The couple had already pulled out of the immediate royal family last year with their now two-year-old son Archie and moved to the United States. Since a sensational interview between the two, in which they complained of a lack of support from the royal family and of racism, their relationship with the royal family has become cloudy.