Pressing pause! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke to Queen Elizabeth II before naming their daughter Lilibet, the monarch’s nickname.
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“They had a shortlist with a few other options, but this was always their favorite,” a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. “It was important for them that the queen signed off though and that didn’t happen until right before the birth. They both agreed it would only be right if Her Majesty gave her approval, especially with something so personal. … He and Meghan both love Lili.”
The couple, who “have a huge amount of respect for the queen,” announced their baby girl’s moniker on Sunday, June 6, two days after her arrival.
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“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet,” the pair wrote in a statement on their Archewell website.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, also honored the former military pilot’s late mother, Princess Diana. “Harry always said that if he has a daughter, he wants her middle name to be Diana as a tribute to his mom,” the source tells Us.
The Princess of Wales, who died in 1997, would have been “thrilled” by the moniker choice, her former voice coach Stewart Pearce exclusively told Us on Monday, June 7. “As Diana was the personification of love and the exemplar of unconditional love, she would have been so excited by the babe and her beautiful names,” he explained.
Lili’s parents also honored Diana when they welcomed their son, Archie, now 2, in May 2019. Not only does his first name mean “truly brave” in Scotland and “true and bold” in Germany, but Diana had an ancestor named Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, from Scotland.
Archie was “very excited” to become a big brother, a source exclusively told Us in April, two months after Harry and Meghan’s pregnancy announcement. “They are a little worried now that they will have two kids around versus just one. They’re trying to give Archie all the attention he can handle right now.”
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The toddler hasn’t experienced any “jealousy issues,” another source exclusively revealed on Sunday, noting that Archie “adores his little sister and gives her lots of kisses.”
For more on Harry and Meghan’s new arrival, watch the video above and check out the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
With reporting by Natalie Posner and Travis Cronin
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