DRAMA OVER BABY LILIBET

The birth of the Sussexes’ daughter was overshadowed by tension around their choice of name

After two years of tensions between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the royal family, it was a curious choice for the couple to name their baby girl – Lilibet Diana Mountbatten Windsor, born on June 4 – after its sovereign.

After all, just weeks ago Prince Harry made a veiled, but very public, criticism of the Queen for her flawed parenting of Prince Charles, and spoke candidly of moving to the US to break that cycle for his own kids, Archie, two, and his newborn daughter.

So it was a shock to the royals when the Sussexes revealed they’d named their baby Lilibet after Harry’s gran’s lifelong nickname, despite months of the couple publicly speaking out against her family, her values and her monarchy.

But late last week Harry and Meghan’s decision to name their daughter after the Queen, 95, sparked a heated debate about whether she was even told about the name choice or asked for her blessing.

A palace aide told the BBC that the Sussexes did not ask the Queen about using her nickname, but just 90 minutes after the report was published, a spokesperson for Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, firmly denied the claims.

“The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement – in fact, his grandmother was the first family member he called,” the spokesperson said. “During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.”

However, a royal insider tells Woman’s Day that regardless of whether or not she knew about the name, the Queen was stunned to learn the news of her 11th great-grandchild’s arrival had been shared with the rest of the world.