Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, “copyrighted” the name Lilibet before giving birth to her daughter, according to a royal expert.
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, “copyrighted” the name Lilibet before giving birth to her daughter, according to a royal expert.
The same royal insider chastised Markle and Prince Harry following allegations in a latest book that Queen Elizabeth was incensed after they claimed she had granted them permission to name their daughter Lilibet.
The saga behind nickname ‘Lilibet’
As the late queen was unable to correctly pronounce her own name as a toddler, she was given the nickname Lilibet. However, King George V, her grandfather, continued to call her Lilibet.
“One [aide] privately recalled that Elizabeth II had been ‘as angry as I’d ever seen her’ in 2021 after the Sussexes announced that she had given them her blessing to name their baby daughter ‘Lilibet’, the Queen’s childhood nickname,” as per Robert Hardman’s Charles III: New King, New Court, The Inside Story, which has been serialized by the Daily Mail.
The late Queen was reportedly consulted about the name but could not refuse. However, citing a Palace source, the BBC stated that the Sussexes did not seek the monarch’s permission to use the name.
While the Duke and Duchess’ spokesperson maintained that they took confirmation from the Queen, their attorneys at the time allegedly sent legal letters to the BBC and other media outlets, claiming the assertion was untrue and defamatory.
Meghan’s action left Queen ‘furious’
The miffed queen allegedly told Palace aides, “I don’t own the palaces or the paintings, only my name, and now they’ve taken that,” according to Hardman.
Angela Levin, a royal biographer, termed the couple’s behavior “appalling”, stressing that it left the late Queen “furious.”
Calling it “incredibly sad comment”, she claimed that Meghan had taken out the names officially before her daughter’s birth so that she could use them to identify herself and make purchases.
On being asked by presenter Eamonn Holmes if Meghan had copyrighted the name, Levin responded: “Yes.”
Meghan’s daughter, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, was born in California’s Santa Barbara hospital on June 4, 2021.
