Prince Harry and Meghan's daughter Lilibet receives no public wishes from Royal family on third birthday
LONDON, ENGLAND: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s younger child, Princess Lilibet celebrated her third birthday on Tuesday, June 4, without any public acknowledgment from the Royal family.
The apparent snub by the British monarchy continues to highlight the apparent strain of their relationship with the Sussexes.
Princess Lilibet's birthday was not publicly acknowledged by Royal Family
Lilibet was born on June 4 in California. While the toddler has just visited her father’s side of the family only once, the fans of the Firm were waiting with bated breath to see whether the Royal Family would wish the young princess. However, none came.
This further highlighted the strained relationship between the family and the Sussexes which was exacerbated after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their royal duties in 2020 and subsequently left for America.
Per The Mirror, the apparent snub came at a time when it was rumored that King Charles was “desperate” to have a connection with Harry’s children.
Similar to Lilibet, even her older brother, Prince Archie too did not receive a birthday message from the royal family when he turned five last month.
Lilibet made her first and only (till now) journey to the British Isles to celebrate her late great-grandmother and Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee. During that time the Queen met her great-granddaughter and namesake for the first time ever.
However, the lack of wishes from England did not result in a sad birthday for the little princess as she shared her special day with her brother and close friends.
Per People, several close friends of the Sussexes along with several non-royal family members were invited to the party.
Lilibet's name angered Queen Elizabeth II
After her birth as Harry and Meghan shared the news of Lilibet’s birth, they noted that the young royal’s name was a nod to the late Queen’s childhood nickname.
However, a royal staffer revealed at that time that the Queen allegedly did not know about the naming while claiming, she was “as angry as I’d ever seen her” with the revelation.
Author Robert Hardman - famous for his book ‘The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy’ - told Us Weekly in January, “The BBC reported very factually that the queen hadn’t actually been asked for her blessing.”
He added, “Harry and Meghan then resorted to lawyers and started firing off legal letters saying, ‘If anybody says this, we’re going to come after you'. At which point they then tried to enlist the palace to support their version of events, and the palace didn’t.”
However, an insider reportedly quashed the claim and said, “Meghan and Harry 100 percent got permission from the queen to use the name Lilibet.”
They added, “The report is not true. [Harry and Meghan] don’t know where this is coming from. They’re shocked that this is coming now; It seems out of nowhere and out of left field. They just feel like it’s more of the same spear campaign that continues against them.”
