Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s second child, was born on 4 June at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California, in the US. The girl’s name is a tribute to both her late grandmother Princess Diana, her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and even Prince Philip, who used to call his wife “Lilibet”.
Lilibet Diana is only three days old but is already firing the world’s press with heated debates about the curious message behind her name.
Happy parents Prince Harry and Meghan welcomed their daughter on Friday, announcing a few days later that they have decided to name their child after Her Majesty The Queen with a nod to her nickname “Lilibet”. The middle name was carefully chosen to “honour her beloved late grandmother” Princess Diana, the couple said.
This photo taken by a drone shows an aerial view of the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Sunday, June 6, 2021, in Santa Barbara, Calif
But the choice has left many observers rolling their eyes: is this a genuine impulse to pay tribute to a bunch of respected royals in one go or just an elaborate marketing strategy?
Many would certainly see the choice of name as “an attempt at healing and reconciliation”, according to royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, in the wake of the couple’s controversial March interview with Oprah Winfrey, that stained the Royal Family with accusations of “racism” and “neglect”.
But Anna Pasternak, the author of ‘The American Duchess: The Real Wallis Simpson’, believes there might be something more behind the Sussexes’ attempt to “honour” the Queen.
Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attending a state dinner in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018
For those in the other camp, the baby girl’s birth is typical behaviour for her scandal-ridden parents who left their senior royal posts last year to move across the pond and continue trashing their British past in a series of interviews, podcasts and documentaries.
Brendan O’Neill, the editor of Spiked Online, says the choice of name looked like “a little bit of a PR stunt” and a “cynical” attempt to wash out their past comments bashing the family and how it “ruins people’s lives.”
The Sussexes’ famous critic Piers Morgan agrees: the name move was really “ironic”. But the former Good Morning Britain host, who says he left his job after refusing to apologise for slamming Meghan Markle for her “downright lies” in the Oprah Winfrey interview, sarcastically notes that he will not comment on the issue any further. After all, Lilibet’s parents have made the move to the US in search of peace and simple life.
When Will We See Lili’s Photos?
According to Omid Scobie, Meghan Markle’s biographer and alleged pal, the couple are not willing to share a photo of their baby daughter so soon this time. But will Lili’s privacy-seeking parents sell her first photo exclusively to American outlets? Richard Fitzwilliams thinks it’s unlikely.
FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex holding their son Archie, meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu (not pictured) at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa, September 25, 2019
According to Fitzwilliams, Prince Harry and Meghan are “certainly unpredictable as a couple.” After all, they left many, including the press and even reportedly Buckingham Palace, unaware about the girl’s arrival.
Leslie Carroll, another royal commentator and author of ‘American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’, believes the couple are not interested in making money on their offspring.
According to Pasternak, however, the Sussexes can go as far as to reveal the photographs of their newborn on a new Oprah show.
“Their version of ‘private’ is certainly not most people’s view of what privacy entails,” the writer added.
Royal Commentator and Deputy Editor at Royal Central Brittani Barger believes that the couple may share an image eventually on the Archewell webiste “like they did of Archie for his birthday this month.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on “parental leave” now and have asked those who wish to congratulate them to support women-focused charities. Many on social media are curious, however, whether the two ex-senior royals were particularly taking the leave from their attacks on the royal family.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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