She is more than we could have ever imagined,” Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said in a statement on June 4 when they announced that their daughter, Lilibet “Lili” Diana, had arrived. The newly minted parents-of-two gave themselves two days to bask in their second baby before sharing their news with the world. And the excitement has been real.
This was the first time many people had heard the moniker Lilibet, which is pronounced Lily-bet and honours the Queen (it was her nickname from her father, and the name Prince Philip called her during their 73-year marriage). Lili’s middle name pays tribute to her late grandmother, Princess Diana.
Weighing in at 7 lbs 11 oz, she was born at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in the family’s home of Santa Barbara, California. And it must have been a big relief for Meghan, who was able to labour without media attention and decide when exactly she wanted to share the news.
We can’t wait for our first glimpse of their Cali baby (Father’s Day would be a great opportunity, just saying), and we’re dreaming of a photo of Lili with her big brother, two-year-old Archie, but for now we’re loving all the little details that have come out about Harry and Meghan’s new addition. We’ve rounded up some fun facts you might not know.
1). PRINCE HARRY MIGHT HAVE GIVEN A HINT ABOUT HER NAME YEARS AGO.
Who would have thought that a conversation Prince Harry had with a young girl on a visit to Birkenhead in 2019 would have been so significant now? At the time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who was heavily pregnant with Archie, were chatting with a group of schoolchildren and Harry met a girl named Lily. He asked her mother how she spelled her daughter’s name before moving down the line.
Like many excited second timers, Harry and Meghan found out the sex of their second baby. But with Archie, they held out, meaning they would have had to have names for both sexes picked out in 2019. Looks like they definitely had Lily on the mind.
2). SHE SHARES SOMETHING SPECIAL WITH HER FIRST COUSIN PRINCESS CHARLOTTE.
Prince Harry has talked a lot lately about the toll his mother’s death took on his life, and how one of Archie’s first words was ‘grandma’ in honour of his late grandmother, so it’s no surprise Diana was at the top of Meghan and Harry’s list for their baby girl, Lilibet Diana. And she shares her middle name with her first cousin, Princess Charlotte! When Prince William and Kate gave birth to a daughter, fans were sure they’d honour his late mother with her name, and they were right. Charlotte Elizabeth Diana pays tribute to Prince Charles, the Queen and Princess Diana.
So the cousins’ names actually honour two of the same family members.
3). LILY IS LIKELY TO ALWAYS BE THE BABY OF THE SUSSEX FAMILY.
When they sat down for an interview with Oprah, Harry and Meghan first shared the sex of their second child, but what you might not remember is they also said this baby would be their last. Of course, we all know these things can change, but at the time they seemed pretty certain. “To have a boy then a girl—what more can you ask for?” Harry said during the interview, where the couple agreed that “two is it.” Harry added, “now we’ve got our family and we’ve got four of us.” And this wasn’t the first time Harry has spoken about having two children. Back in 2019, Prince Harry interviewed Dr Jane Goodall for Vogue UK, and the topic of kids came up.
Harry explained that he wants to preserve nature for his children, and a laughing Jane replied, “Not too many!” Harry assured her that he’d have “two maximum.”
4). SHE IS THE EIGTH IN LINE TO THE ROYAL THRONE.
Coming in just behind her brother, Lili has a place in the line of succession despite her parents stepping down as working senior royals last year. Ahead of her are her grandfather, Prince Charles, uncle Prince William, cousins George, Charlotte and Louis and her dad.
5). LILY MADE HER DEBUT IN STYLE AT A HOSPITAL FOUNDED BY WOMEN.
A lifelong feminist, Meghan must have loved that her local Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital got its start when a group of women came together in 1888 to offer state-of-the-art care for their community. Its founder, Mary Ashley, was the first board president when it opened in 1891 and Dr. Jane E. Spaulding, the first superintendent, helped to pave the way for future female physicians.
According to the hospital site, each of the birthing rooms has a rocking chair, a sofa, a recliner and lots of pillows, plus access to jacuzzis for hydrotherapy, birthing balls and lush terraces to wander if walking through your contractions feels good. And new parents can order meals from a menu and help themselves to pantry snacks.
6). THE QUEEN WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO FIND OUT ABOUT LILY’S BIRTH.
While they were very open about how unbearable their time in the royal family had been, Harry and Meghan have made it clear that they have a good relationship with the Queen, telling Oprah that they Facetime with her regularly and she sent them a waffle maker for Christmas. And, like with any royal baby, People reports that they made sure she was one of the first to find out that baby Lili was here. Though most of her great-grandchildren are named in her honour, we’d bet this new spin on Elizabeth was a fun surprise for the monarch.
