Congratulations are in order to the Duchess of Sussex, who gave birth to her second child and first daughter on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. And it’s hard to think of a more poignant name than the one Meghan and Harry chose – Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, named for Queen Elizabeth II (whose family nickname is Lilibet) and, of course, Harry’s mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
Lili was born at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and weighed 7 lbs, 11 oz., according to an official statement released by the couple’s press secretary.
This is the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild and the 3rd born this year.
From the Archewell site —
It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world. Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA.
She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home.
Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.
This is the second child for the couple, who also have a two-year-old son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The Duke and Duchess thank you for your warm wishes and prayers as they enjoy this special time as a family.”
Princess Diana with Harry in Italy, May 05, 1985.
Below, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry, May 2019.
A personal message from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex followed, reading —
On June 4th we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili. She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”
In response to the happy news today, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said —
The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been informed and are delighted with the news of the birth of a daughter for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
From the Royal Family’s Twitter account —
Prince Charlies and the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla also shared their well wishes via Twitter.
Finally, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge share their congratulations to the couple and Archie.
Prince Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, also publicly congratulated the Sussexes on the new addition to their family.
The Duchess of Sussex and HM The Queen in Cheshire, UK, June 2018
Messages of congratulations to the Duke and Duchess continue to pour in from around the world.
UPDATE 6/7: Additional patronages send Harry, Meghan and Archie well wishes.
Two of Meghan’s patronages tweeted congratulatory messages, Smart Works and Mayhew.
As well as a message from The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.
The Invictus Games Foundation tweeted this message —
Wellchild via Twitter —
The Diana Award charity shared their congratulations as well.
From photographer Misan Harriman who took the couple’s baby announcement photo.
A postscript added to the Archewell site regarding gifts reads —
For those inquiring on sending gifts, we would ask that you support or learn more about these organizations working for women and girls: Girls Inc., Harvest Home, CAMFED or Myna Mahila Foundation.”
The Archewell site post concluded with a message about Harry and Meghan being out on parental leave.
While the Duke and Duchess are on parental leave, Archewell will continue to do important work and publish stories on the site. We look forward to seeing you!
Our deepest congratulations and well-wishes to the family of four!
So happy for them! May God bless and protect the Sussex family. Welcome to the world Baby Lili!
Congratulations to the Sussexes and Archie who hopefully is excited to have a little sister! So lovely they had a few days to themselves before announcing it to the world. Lilibet is an unusual choice for a first name given that it is a family nickname and while it wouldn’t be my choice to name my daughter that, I absolutely had “Lily” down when I was young. “Archie and Lili” has a nice ring to it.
Hi Amelie – The name Lilibet is of Hebrew origin and means “God is my oath” or “pledge to god”. I’ve also read that the name is a blend of Lily: (the flower; innocence; purity; beauty) and Elizabeth: My God is bountiful; God of plenty. The Queen’s father, King George VI, reportedly used to say: “Lilibet is my pride – which is where the nickname came from. It’s commonly used as a short form of Elizabeth as we know. According to reports, Harry asked permission of the Queen to use the name which is what we figured was the case. It’s nice to hear another version or shorter version of Elizabeth since the name was used quite a bit within the family – her daughter: Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; Grandchildren: Zara Anne Elizabeth, Beatrice Elizabeth Mary and Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary: Great Grandkids: Isla Elizabeth, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, Lena Elizabeth. I think we can see why the Sussexes wanted to go with something a bit different while still honoring the Queen and Diana.
It certainly does have a nice ring to it – Lili and Archie. 🙂 – Susan C.
Lillibet Diana. That name is strong. I love it! Literally could not have chosen a better name. And I love that the public was not made aware until two days afterwards. H&M got to enjoy their new daughter for two whole days with few people even knowing she had arrived. Kudos to hospital staff for keeping quiet. Most of all congrats to Harry, Meghan and Archie!
There could not be a more perfect name for this little darling.
Congratulations to Harry & Meghan!
So excited for Archie & Lili to have one another.
Thank you for a beautiful post sharing this wonderful news!
Congratulations to the Sussex fam! <3 We are so happy to hear of baby Lili's safe arrival.