Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcome a baby girl, Lilibet Diana
Lilibet #Lilibet
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed a baby girl on Friday and her name couldn’t have been more royal. The two named their daughter Lilibet Diana, two names inspired by two powerhouse royal women. “Lilibet” is the nickname that Queen Elizabeth II gave herself as a child when she struggled to pronounce “Elizabeth” and “Diana,” of course, is for Harry’s late mother, the Princess of Wales.
Despite any family differences over Harry and Meghan’s recent interview with Oprah Winfrey and Harry’s Apple TV Plus series, the royal family immediately congratulated the couple.
“Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of Lilibet Diana!” the Royal Family posted on Instagram. “The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted with the news. Lilibet is Her Majesty’s 11th great-grandchild.”
Lilibet Diana bumped her uncle, Prince Andrew, down one spot in the line of succession to the British throne. Although she is American-born and likely will have dual citizenship, the new baby is now number eight in line, following her brother, Archie, 2.
Lilibet’s arrival — and especially her oh-so-royal name — drew a reaction on social media.
“Congratulations Meghan, Harry and Archie,” tweeted talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres. “Welcome to the world Lilibet! I am more than a Lilibet excited to meet you.”
“A big congratulations to Meghan and Harry on the birth of their beautiful baby girl Lilibet Diana, which just happens to be my name too,” another Twitter user wrote. “My mother loved the Royals and gave me this amazing name.”
Some commenters were huge fans of the name honoring the two famous royal women.
“Lovely tribute on many levels … not only to Princess Diana, but also Her Majesty the Queen (as Lilibet was Her Majesty’s childhood nickname),” wrote one Twitter user.
But others thought that if Prince Harry and his wife were intentionally trying to remove themselves from the royal family, the name was inappropriate.
“Trying to appease the Queen after insulting her … and giving themselves another opportunity to be talking about Diana all year long with her namesake,” said one Twitter user.
But some social media users thought that the birth of a baby was perhaps not the place to refight personal battles.
“Congratulations to them,” one Twitter user wrote. “Anyone who says anything else (about) the birth of a new child really needs to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror and question who they’ve become.”