A royal columnist in Australia has branded Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to name their daughter Lilibet an effort to "secure the Sussex brand".
Angela Mollard suggested on Wednesday's edition of The Morning Show in Australia that the name was a way to ensure the couple remained linked to the palace even if their royal titles are revoked.
And the royal commentator claimed that she believed the Queen's hands were tied when it came to the naming of the baby as the pair "may have complained to Oprah" if she had said no.
Speaking to the breakfast show's hosts Kylie Gillies and Larry Emdur, Angela said: "I imagine they used the name Lilibet to secure the brand, the Sussex brand, to make that connection to the palace."
And despite saying she personally liked the name, Angela said she thought it was "too close" to a family that the couple had actively chosen to distance themselves from.
She continued: "It's a personal name. It's a name that Philip obviously called Elizabeth. It's too close.
"But could you imagine if the Queen had said no, they could have gone on Oprah and [complained], 'Yeah, she wouldn't let us use that name.'"
She went on to say that she felt Harry had "lost the right" to use the name he'd liked for several years after the way he had criticised his family on his Apple TV+ series called The Me You Can't See.
"When you trounce your grandmother for her poor parenting and then you go and take her name, it's not a great look," Angela boldly said.
And she revealed she thought the name was in poor taste and "doesn't fit with me" as the Queen is likely to be disheartened by how recent events have unfolded.
While reports of a family rift had been rumbling for a while, Harry and Meghan's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in March sent shockwaves around the world.
The Duke and Duchess Sussex made a host of revelations during the TV special, including accusing an unnamed royal making a racist remark about their son Archie's skin tone and saying Harry's family didn't help Meghan after she said she was suicidal.
And in last month's Apple TV+ series, Harry also suggested that dad Prince Charles let his children "suffer" at the hands of the media due to his own negative experiences.
Charles praised the news of his granddaughter's arrival, calling it "happy news".
