Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have welcomed their second child, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, but the new baby Sussex is a little different from the last.
Baby Lilibet arrived on Friday, June 4, at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California, close to where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex live.
And while other members of the royal family are busy congratulating the brood on their latest addition, others are wondering which special considerations will apply to the new baby – and why they chose that name.
Like big brother Archie, 2, baby Lilibet will have dual citizenship between the UK and the US.
Lilibet isn’t the first royal to be born on US soil, but she is by far the closest in line to the throne.
She could therefore be eligible to run for President while being eighth in line – a move many have encouraged her mother to consider.
The only other royal to be born in the US is Maud Windsor, 7, the daughter of Prince Harry’s distant cousin Lord Frederick Windsor.
Maud is 52nd in line to the throne.
Although Archie was born in the UK in May 2019, he resides in the US and has an American mother, which makes him eligible for passports for both countries.
Same, same, but different
The circumstances surrounding the Sussexes’ royal status are vastly different for Lilibet’s birth, compared to Archie’s.
At the time of Archie’s birth, Prince Harry and Markle were still senior royals, so many aspects of the birth were controlled, according to tradition, by the palace.
This includes the birth announcement, which was made by Buckingham Palace as soon as Markle went into labour.
Since the Sussexes have stepped down as senior royals, news of Lili’s birth was kept under wraps until Sunday – two days after she was born.
Prince Harry and Markle made the announcement themselves this time, and weren’t subjected to the same first photo fanfare that surrounded Archie’s birth, as well as the birth of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three children.
Like Archie, Lilibet won’t receive a royal title, though the siblings will technically be entitled to be known as Prince/Princess when their grandfather, Prince Charles ascends the throne.
A Lili by any other name
The Sussexes announced on their Archewell website that it was the Queen who inspired the name.
“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honour her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales,” the statement read.
Social media users were quick to criticise the couple on the name, believing it was inappropriate given their chequered past with the Queen.
Tweet from @darrengrimes_
Others speculated that the royal family, who the Sussexes recently accused of racism, would be furious to learn the child was named after the monarch.
Tweet from @VntageGirlyGlam
But most Twitter users believed the name was a cute tribute to the “strong women” in Prince Harry’s life.
Tweet from @iwanttobeamedic
