Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced the arrival of their second child, a daughter named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, revealing she arrived safely on June 4, 2021.
“On June 4th, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili. She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family,” the couple wrote to their Archewell website.
An official statement added, “She weighed 7lbs 11oz (3.5kg). Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home. She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe.”
The name, of course, is a touching tribute to two influential women in both their lives.
The Queen’s nickname growing up was ‘Lilibet’, a name given to her by her father, King George VI, because she couldn’t pronounce her own name, and one that close family are said to still call her. Famously, the late Prince Philip often referred to his wife as Lilibet.
At the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral service on April 17, 2021, Her Majesty left a heartbreaking handwritten note on top of his coffin that was signed off: “In loving memory, Lilibet.”
Of course, Diana is a tribute to Harry’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Prior to their daughter’s arrival, many had predicted that the Duke and Duchess would pay tribute to the late royal through their daughter’s name.
Lili also isn’t the first royal with a middle name that honours the royal, with Princess Charlotte, the daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton, also sharing the middle name Diana.
This is the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s second child, having welcomed son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, now two, in May 2019.
Meghan and Harry’s exciting news comes after the duchess revealed she suffered a miscarriage last July. In a raw, first-person essay for the New York Times, Meghan detailed the “unbearable grief” she suffered following the experience.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” she wrote. “In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage. Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.”
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