On June 4, 2022, the Sussex family will celebrate the first birthday of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter Lilibet. The late Queen Elizabeth’s 12th great-grandchild was born on June 4, 2021, in Santa Monica, California. Elizabeth had never met her youngest great-grandchild, Lilibet, and had only seen her through virtual means before June 2022. Fortunately, before her death on September 8, 2022, that changed at her Platinum Jubilee, as Harry and Meghan were present to honor Elizabeth’s tremendous milestone.
Harry and Meghan had returned to the UK for the first time since moving to the United States in 2020 to commemorate the late queen’s jubilee, a four-day holiday weekend marking Elizabeth’s incredible 70-year reign. On June 3, 2022, the couple made their first public appearance at a royal event in more than two years when they attended a thanksgiving service for the queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The Sussexes, on the other hand, were not invited to join the queen and the rest of the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the queen’s annual Trooping the Colour parade. However, the Washington Post said that during the march, cameras caught a glimpse of Meghan playing with some of Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren in a window of Buckingham Palace.
While Harry and Meghan have received a lot of criticism for quitting their royal duties to pursue a quieter life in the United States, their presence at the Queen’s Jubilee was appreciated, especially because it was her final major celebration before her death. More importantly, it gave Lilibet and her brother Archie a lovely tribute to their great-grandmother. As the royal couple’s daughter turns one, the world celebrates her development right before our eyes.
Prince Harry was born on September 15, 1984, in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, to Princess Diana and King Charles III. While his upbringing was not without difficulties, such as his parent’s divorce, Harry was always known for his “happy-go-lucky” personality. According to Biography.com, his mother’s tragic and unexpected death in 1997 shocked him profoundly and left him with severe emotional scars.
His desire in military service developed as he grew older, and in 2005, he enrolled at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He served for eleven years and formally retired in May 2015. Despite the fact that he was no longer in active combat, Harry continued to volunteer to assist wounded servicemen. According to the Royal Website, the Duke of Sussex’s military career included two deployments to Afghanistan, and he was eventually promoted to Lieutenant with The Household Cavalry.
In 2017, Harry was appointed Captain General of the Royal Marines, succeeding the late Prince Philip. However, when he elected to resign as a senior royal member of the family in January 2020, Harry relinquished all military responsibilities.
Harry and Meghan met on a blind date in 2016 and struck it off immediately. Meghan knew she’d finally met the love of her life based on how quickly things proceeded. “I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her,” Harry told Vogue. “I’m going to have to lift my game here,” I thought.
According to Town & Country, Harry would whisk Meghan away to Botswana just a few weeks later, closing off a whirlwind courtship. According to the couple, this journey was crucial in bringing them closer and launching their relationship. The country and their journey would become so meaningful to the couple that the center diamond in Meghan’s three-stone engagement ring would come from Botswana.
The trip allowed the couple to converse without feeling pressured or scrutinized. “We were alone, which was crucial to me so that we could get to know each other,” Harry told Vogue.
When Harry proposed to her in the same Vogue interview, Meghan shared her feelings. She stated,
“It was an incredible surprise. He got down on one knee, and it was so sweet, real, and romantic.”
Meghan and Harry even kept their wedding in 2018 a secret. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey three days before their wedding, the couple talked about their secret vow exchange. Meghan, according to the BBC, stated:
“We called the archbishop and just told him, ‘Look, this event, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us…’” “It was just the two of us in our backyard.”
Meghan had already succeeded as an actress through her hard work before meeting Harry. Nonetheless, her career as an actress could not have prepared her for the infamy she would achieve after becoming Duchess of Sussex.
Meghan focused on her academics and worked in politics before breaking into the entertainment industry. Although Meghan knew acting was her love, she despised becoming a stereotyped Los Angeles girl who wanted to be an actor. She is not stereotyped.
Meghan would then go to Illinois and attend Northwestern University in Evanston, where she decided to pursue politics as her next career. Meghan had a passion for theater and the performing arts even when interning at the US Embassy in Argentina.
She continued to audition while finishing her education. Over the next few years, she appeared in films such as “Remember Me” and “Get Him to the Greek.” She’d also appeared on “General Hospital,” but it wasn’t until she landed her breakout role on the mega-hit show “Suits” that everything changed for her.
Meghan would continue to play Rachel Zane on “Suits” until 2018, the same year she married Harry. Since then, the happy couple has continued to show off their amazing love to the world and welcomed two children: Archie and Lilibet. However, their love story has not been without difficulties, as they announced their royal departure just a few years after marriage.
“After many months of reflection and internal deliberation, we have opted to make a step this year, in the beginning, to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” Harry and Meghan said on Instagram on January 8, 2020. As senior members of the Royal Family, we desire to step back and work toward financial independence while remaining entirely supportive of Her Majesty The Queen.”
According to NBC News, the royal family and the rest of the globe were taken aback by the statement. According to Town And Country Magazine, even the royal family was taken aback by the news, and the late Queen Elizabeth was only made aware of the post 10 minutes before.
“Although we would have preferred that they remain full-time working members of the royal family, we accept their decision to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a beloved part of my family,” the queen later added in a statement of support.
Following this remark, changes began, and Harry and Meghan organized their trip to North America. Their formal last day as senior royal family members was March 31, 2020. According to Vanity Fair, Harry has found new freedom for his passions and goals outside the constraints of royal duties.
While Harry and William had issues, Vanity Fair reported that they were mended after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to California in March 2020. There were also frequent video calls with his father, Charles, and grandmother, Elizabeth. According to a family source, “the queen likes seeing Archie onscreen and has commented on his streak of red hair,” as reported by Vanity Fair at the time.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their second pregnancy on Valentine’s Day 2021, only to reveal the baby’s gender on the March 2021 interview special “Oprah with Meghan and Harry.”
For months before the announcement, many around the world wondered if Harry would choose to commemorate his mother and grandmother with the birth of his daughter. According to the Express UK, royal insiders believe Harry and Meghan will name their daughter after both Elizabeth and Philip.
According to PEOPLE, the couple stated on Sunday saying, “It is with great happiness that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their baby, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world.”
“Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA,” the statement said. She weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces. Both mother and child are in good health and are settling in at home.”
As many royal fans are aware, the baby girl’s name is also highly meaningful, which was also acknowledged in the announcement. “Lili is named after Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Diana, her middle name, was selected to commemorate her late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”
“This is the couple’s second child; they also have a two-year-old son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor,” Harry and Meghan’s spokesman stated. The Duke and Duchess appreciate your kind words and prayers as they enjoy this special time together as a family.”
“My husband and I are delighted to be welcoming a daughter,” Meghan said in May, shortly before giving birth to her second child. “It’s an exhilaration we share with millions of other families worldwide. When we think of her, we think of all the countless families worldwide that need to be given the ability and support to lead us forward. Their future leadership is contingent on our actions to position them and all of us for a successful, equitable, and compassionate tomorrow.”
Given the tragic events of the epidemic in the preceding years, which were fraught with turbulence and misery, the couple’s significant announcement was the first bit of positive news the royal family had in a long time. Furthermore, Prince Philip, the child’s great-grandfather, died on April 9, 2021, at 99. Meghan could not attend Philip’s funeral on April 17 because doctors advised her not to travel to the United Kingdom while pregnant.
Naturally, the royal family was overjoyed to have a new baby to love, especially since Lilibet was the queen’s 12th great-grandchild.
Following Queen Elizabeth’s death on September 8, 2022, Meghan and Harry’s daughter formally became a princess under laws established by King George VI in 1917. However, it is uncertain whether the Sussexes will accept the titles of prince and princess for their two children.
Lili’s given name has an excellent origin story. Many royal fans know that the queen’s close family referred to her as “Lilibet” because the small princess could not pronounce her own name. The queen’s parents and grandfather bestowed upon her the charming moniker she retained throughout her life.
Apart from Philip and the queen’s parents, no other royal family members called her “Lilibet,” which indicated that the late queen’s wonderful nickname was no longer used after Philip’s death. While it was merely a forecast, not an assumption, that the queen’s 12th great-grandchild would be named “Lily,” Harry and Meghan went above and above by giving their daughter a memorable name.
Meghan and Harry had previously been entirely private about disclosing images of their children, but fans were pleased to learn that the couple had finally revealed a photo of Lilibet! The stunning snapshot, posted by photographer Misan Harriman, attracted the attention of royal fans worldwide. The image touched people all across the world.
“It was such a privilege to spend Lilibet’s first birthday with my family and hers!” the caption added. There was a lot of giggling and face-painting going on.
Internet users were pleased to get a close-up of the small princess. The Instagram photo earned over 75,000 likes and many comments.
“Wow, what a gorgeous girl Lili is,” one kind Instagram user said.
Lilibet was dressed in a baby blue outfit with a white bow in her hair in the photo. The video quickly went viral on the internet and was featured by several news sources. Lilibet, like her brother Archie, acquired her father’s characteristic red hair! Lilibet had a fantastic first birthday, and we wish her the best.
What kind of relationship do you see Lilibet having with the royal family? Let us know your thoughts, and don’t forget to notify your friends and family about Lili’s birthday.
