Prior to this, royal journalist Robert Hardman wrote in his new book that the late Queen was 'angry' after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle claimed that she approved of the naming.
- Jan 17, 2024
AceShowbiz - Royal biographer Omid Scobie has weighed in on recent reports claiming that Queen Elizabeth II was infuriated when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stated that the late monarch approved of them naming their daughter after her family nickname. On Tuesday, January 16, Omid took to social media to slam the claims.
"None of these Lilibet 'revelations' are doing the late Queen Elizabeth II any favours," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The royal expert additionally shared screenshots of an excerpt from famed writer Gyles Brandreth' book "Elizabeth".
The "Finding Freedom" co-author continued, "Not only do they contradict details shared by the Palace with a cooperatively written biography in 2022 (see pic), they also depict the monarch in a way the public haven't known her to be."
Omid's tweets came after royal journalist Robert Hardman wrote in "Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story" that the Queen was "angry" after finding out that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement that the Queen was "supportive" of the name. The author also claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were "rebuffed" by Buckingham Palace when they asked them to back up their claim publicly.
"One privately [member of palace staff] 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 call their baby daughter 'Lilibet', the queen's childhood nickname," the book read.
The book continued, "The couple subsequently fired off warnings of legal action against anyone who dared to suggest otherwise, as the BBC had done. However, when the Sussexes tried to co-opt the Palace into propping up their version of events, they were rebuffed."
Meghan and Harry's second child Lilibet was born in June 2021. Shortly after the couple announced that they named their daughter Lilibet Diana, BBC cited a source claiming that the couple "never asked" the Queen for her approval to use her nickname. The Times and Daily Mail additionally reported that instead of asking for permission, the Sussexes simply "informed" the Queen about the name.
In response to the claims, Harry and Meghan's spokesperson issued a statement noting that "the duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement - in fact his grandmother was the first family member he called." The statement continued, "During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honor. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name."
