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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly in “open disagreement” with Buckingh am Palace over media reports that they didn’t ask for the Queen’s permission to name their daughter Lilibet.
While sources close to Harry and Meghan insisted that they informed the Queen and asked for her approval, some media reports claimed that Palace sources said the Sussexes did not ask for the Queen’s permission.
Harry told the Queen years ago that he wanted to name his daughter after her, sources said
Writing in the Mirror, royal expert Russell Myers claimed that a source said that before he met and married Meghan, Harry told the Queen he wanted to name his daughter after her.
According to Myers, the source said that Harry had spoken in the past about his desire to raise a family and his wish to honor the Queen by naming his daughter after her.
“Harry has never made a secret of his wish to have a family of his own, often talking about how it would be great to have a boy and a girl, that he could name after the two most important women in his life, the Queen and his mother,” the source said, according to Myers.
Harry did not ask for the Queen’s permission to name his daughter Lilibet, a Palace source claimed
The BBC reported that a Palace source said that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not ask the Queen about naming their daughter Lilibet.
Royal writer Myers claimed that sources said although Harry told the Queen years before he met and married Meghan that he wanted to name his daughter after her, he never formally asked for the Queen’s approval to use her childhood pet name, Lilibet.
But the sources admitted that Harry privately called the Queen and informed her before he and Meghan officially announced their baby’s birth and name.
Sussex source insisted they asked for the Queen’s permission
A spokesperson for the Sussexes has denied the allegation that they did not ask for the Queen’s permission to name their child Lilibet.
Royal biographer Omid Scobie took to Twitter on Wednesday to respond to the BBC report that the Sussexes did not seek the Queen’s permission to use her name.
“A Sussex source says that the Queen was the first family Harry called after Lilibet’s birth and during that conversation, he shared the couple’s hope of naming their daughter in her honour,” Scobie tweeted.
The royal biographer and friend of the Sussexes added that had the Queen not been supportive, Meghan and Harry wouldn’t have named their child after her.
The BBC also reported that a spokesperson insisted that the Sussexes called the Queen to ask her permission before announcing their child’s name.
“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, according to the BBC.
However, the Daily Mail reported Buckingham Palace “briefings appear to hint that the Queen felt she was presented with the couple’s decision and asked to rubber-stamp it, rather than give permission.”