Prince Harry And Meghan Respond To Claims They Named Lilibet Without Queen's Approval

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their second child in June of last year, and they chose to pay a touching tribute to the Queen with her name.

She is called Lilibet, which is short for Elizabeth, and this has been the Queen's pet name since she was a child, used by her late father King George VI and husband Prince Philip. Watch Harry and Meghan introduce Archie below:

However, some critics of the couple, who stepped down as senior members of the royal family in 2020, claimed that they named their daughter without the Queen's permission.

The couple have now hit back at these allegations – and specifically the BBC's royal correspondent, Jonny Dymond, who perpetuated the rumour – which they've described as 'false and defamatory'.

As reported by the Daily Mail, a spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: "The Duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement – in fact, his grandmother was the first family member he called.

"During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour.

"Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name."

But Nicky Haslam, a friend of the royal family, claimed that there was some truth to the rumour – as the Queen thought that the baby was going to be called Elizabeth.

The interior designer said: "I heard [Harry] rang her and said: 'We want to call our daughter after you, Granny'. She said: 'How charming of you, thank you', thinking that it would be Elizabeth.

"So they got the permission, but they didn't say the name."

He then questioned why the couple didn't name their daughter after Meghan's mother Doria.

Haslam said: "Why on earth didn't they call that baby Doria? It's the prettiest name ever."

Another option for the baby would have been Diana, however, the couple decided to make Prince Harry's late mother's name their daughter's middle one.

Her full name is, therefore, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.

Haslam's claims come after Prince Charles recently got to meet Lilibet for the first time, the BBC reported.

A royal source claimed that it was 'very, very special' for the future king to get a chance to spend time with his grandson Archie and get to meet his youngest granddaughter.

They said: "He hadn't met Lili, his granddaughter, and so to meet her was very emotional, a very, very wonderful thing."

The couple recently returned to the UK from their home in California so they could partake in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.