Royal Expert Says Princess Lilibet Faces a ‘Split’ Between Royal Family and Sussexes
It’s not easy being a princess — at least, that’s what Princess Lilibet, the younger child of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, might say to herself someday. Harry and Meghan, known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are parents to two children: Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who received their royal titles upon Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September 2022.
Despite being royalty, the two kids are being raised far away from the royal family. Harry and Meghan have planted roots in California while the other royals continue their duties over in the United Kingdom. And someday, Princess Lilibet might find herself at a crossroads between her relationship with her parents and her ties to the royal family.
Princess Lilibet was named after Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana
Harry and Meghan welcomed their only daughter, Princess Lilibet Diana, in 2021. They subsequently named their little girl after two very important women in Harry’s life: His grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose childhood nickname was Lilibet, and his mother, Princess Diana, who died tragically in a car accident in 1997. However, one royal expert thinks Harry and Meghan’s decision to give Lilibet a name with such close ties to the royal family might force her to feel like she’s at a crossroads between the family for whom she is named after and the family her parents don’t want her to know.
“Everyone will know that Lilibet got her name because it was Elizabeth II’s childhood name, and I don’t think that’s a good thing,” royal author Tom Quinn told Express. “I think it ties her too close to a world that her parents really want to leave behind.”
Quinn continued, “So there’s going to be a split, she’s going to feel that she was named in a way that ties her to England and to the royal family very closely … But she’s growing up with parents who are very wary of the world they’ve left behind.”
Lilibet is too young to understand her royal ties for now, but she already went from an ordinary name to a princess title just about a year after her birth.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seemingly don’t let their kids interact with the royals
Harry and Meghan have felt quite hurt by the royal family, and some would say for good reason. As a result, they haven’t given their children much of an opportunity to know their royal ties. Archie was lucky enough to meet Queen Elizabeth before her death because he lived in the U.K. for the first eight months of his life. And while Meghan and Harry had already moved to California by the time Lilibet was born, the princess did meet Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle during the Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
Harry and Meghan have been to the U.K. a couple of times since leaving the royal family, including for the queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and her funeral that same year. However, it appears Harry and Meghan have not given the little ones an extended chance to get to know their family members — and it’s unclear if they ever will.
