The late Queen Elizabeth II remained silent regarding matters of the royal family and Buckingham Palace. However, she made an exception for her grandson, Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle, and her great-granddaughter Lilibet, and she also challenged the media inaccuracies regarding a rift between them over Lilibet’s moniker. Outlets at the time reported that the exiled royals didn’t ‘ask for permission’ from the Queen before choosing to name their daughter Lilibet. Apparently, Lilibet was Her Majesty’s childhood nickname and was deeply personal to her since her father, sister, and late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, addressed her with this moniker.
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The Mail On Sunday back then revealed that the Queen broke her ‘never complain, never explain’ policy to correct inaccuracies circulating in the public domain, especially due to the media of both the US and the UK. Hence, she instructed her courtiers to clarify and correct any wrong information that ‘misrepresented’ her conversations with her ‘family or other senior royals.’

The ex-royals took offense at a BBC report titled “Harry and Meghan did not ask Queen to use Lilibet name.” Palace sources slammed it as ‘false and defamatory.’ Meanwhile, their spokesperson said that the daughter’s name was mentioned in their conversations with the now-late Queen. Another US reporter claimed they did ask for permission prior to naming the baby girl.

Moreover, a spokesperson for the now-exiled royals claimed the Sussexes wouldn’t have used the name unless the Queen approved it. “The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement – in fact, his grandmother was the first family member he called,” claimed the insider. “During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honor. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.”

However, a royal source close to Queen Elizabeth clarified that the conversation was more of a ‘telling, not asking’ moment, which seemingly confirmed the BBC’s account. Nonetheless, the palace insiders said that the late Monarch would further challenge any news about her if it turned out to be incorrect or untrue. “This is about whether or not what is being reported is an accurate version of what actually happened,” the insider said.

Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on June 4, 2021, in California after her parents stepped back from their royal titles, and the couple celebrated their baby girl’s third birthday recently. According to PEOPLE, the couple started the festivities early with a pre-birthday bash. The celebrations happened in Montecito, California, among the ex-royal couple’s close friends and family. Harry and Meghan are also parents to their first-born son Archie, who was born on May 6, 2019. Both the children are referred to by their royal titles in their parents’ biographies on sussex.com. However, they have consciously kept their little ones away from the media spotlight but keep sharing titbits about their children at events they attend as part of their work and philanthropic pursuits.