After Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced the birth of their second child, Lilibet Diana, the Queen and the Royal Family released a statement congratulating the Sussexes.
The Royals expressed their heartfelt “delight” with the news of the arrival of Her Majesty’s 11th great-grandchild.
“The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been informed and are delighted with the news of the birth of a daughter for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” the statement released by Buckingham Palace read, according to the Express.
The Royal Family Instagram page also posted a message congratulating the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of Lilibet Diana!” the message read. “The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted with the news.”
Lilibet Diana was born on Friday, June 4
Monsters & Critics reported that Meghan and Harry announced the birth of their daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, on their Acrhewell website.
Lilibet was born at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on Friday, June 4, at 11:40 a.m.
The message posted on the Archewell website said “both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home.”
Lilibet is the Sussex’s second child. Her big brother, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was born on May 6, 2019.
Lilibet Diana was named in honor of the Queen and Princess Diana
According to the statement on the Archewell website, Meghan and Harry named their daughter Lilibet Diana in honor of her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and grandmother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Lilibet was Queen Elizabeth’s childhood nickname. When she was a toddler, Elizabeth could not pronounce her name properly. She pronounced it “Lilibet.”
Her grandfather, King Georg V, started calling her Lilibet and the name stuck.
Lilibet’s middle name is in honor of her father’s mother, Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997 at the age of 36.
It remains uncertain when the Queen will get a chance to meet Lilibet because the Sussexes are currently living in Santa Barbara, California.
They moved to the U.S. in March 2020 after they announced their decision to step down as senior working members of the Royal Family in January 2020.
Harry is scheduled to return to the U.K. in July
The Sussexes welcomed their daughter ahead of Harry’s return to the U.K. in July to attend the unveiling of a statue on the grounds of Kensington Palace in honor of his late mother, Diana.
Royal watchers have been speculating about Harry’s return to the U.K. in July after he traveled to the country in April to attend the burial of his grandfather, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Media reports claimed that Harry was shocked by the cold reception he received from members of his family when he returned to the U.K. amid Royal Family tensions sparked by the Megxit crisis.
The reports led to media speculation that Harry may use the birth of his daughter as an excuse to avoid returning to the U.K. in July. However, it has since been confirmed that the Duke of Sussex will attend the unveiling ceremony.
In other news, Monsters & Critics reported that the Sussexes were demoted on the Royal Family website.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex previously featured on the Royal Family’s website after Charles, Prince of Wales, his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But they now appear below Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex.