Harry and Meghan have gone on parental leave after they announced the birth of their baby daughter Lilibet yesterday afternoon.
The 7lbs 11oz baby – whose middle name is Diana – was born on Friday evening, British time.
It is understood the Queen was informed by Prince Harry that her great-grandchild would be named in her honor, ahead of their official announcement which was made on their official website.
However, Buckingham Palace appeared to be caught off guard by the timing of the Sussexes' news with a spokesman for the palace congratulating the couple 90 minutes after the announcement broke.
‘Lilibet’ was coined by the 95-year-old monarch when she was too young to pronounce her own name. Harry and Meghan’s daughter will be known as Lili Diana. Her late grandmother’s 60th birthday would have been next month.
Last night the delighted Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced: ‘On June 4, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili.
‘She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.’
Lili – who is eighth in line to the throne – was born in Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California, a private facility where births cost up to £20,000.
Omid Scobie, a journalist favoured by Harry and Meghan, tweeted that the couple would ‘not be sharing a photograph at this time’ of Lili and that they were now on 'parental leave'.
He said the couple’s office was encouraging anyone who wanted to send gifts to support organisations working for women and girls.
The Duchess of Sussex has given birth to a daughter named Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, after the family nickname for the Queen and the duke's mother Princess Diana, who died in 1997. Pictured: Harry and Meghan in February
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are joined by her mother, Doria Ragland, as they show their new son, born Monday and named as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to the Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle
The new baby will be entitled to be a princess and Archie (pictured with Meghan and Harry) a prince - both with HRH styles - after the death of the Queen and when Charles becomes king. This is because they will have moved up the line of succession
Tribute: To honour his late mother the Princess of Wales, Harry has given Lilibet the middle name of Diana. Pictured: Princess Diana Cuddling Her Baby Son, Prince Harry, Aboard The Royal Yacht Britannia During Her Royal Tour Of Italy in May 2005
The Queen, senior royals and the Prime Minister led worldwide tributes, with Boris Johnson tweeting: ‘Many congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of their daughter.’
Meghan’s estranged father Thomas Markle, who has met neither Harry nor grandson Archie, said last night: ‘I am very pleased with the announcement of the safe and healthy delivery of my new granddaughter, and I wish her and her mother all my love and best wishes!’
Lili is the couple’s second child after Archie, who is two years and one month older than her.
The new baby is the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild, and the first to be born outside the UK.
The tribute to the Queen may be seen as an olive branch after Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, plunged the Windsors into crisis with their explosive Oprah Winfrey interview in March, when they accused an unnamed royal of making a racist remark about Archie’s skin tone and claimed the royals failed to help the duchess when she was suicidal.
Buckingham Palace officials were unaware the baby had been born until the announcement came out at 5pm last night on social media.
They finally released a statement hailing the ‘happy news’ at 6.34pm, emphasising the gulf that now exists between the Sussexes and the palace.
Buckingham Palace declined to discuss when the Queen was informed of the safe arrival of her newest great-grandchild or whether she was advised of the tribute to her in Lili’s name.
The name Lilibet was coined by the Queen and used by her younger sister Margaret and their parents.
George VI once said: ‘Lilibet is my pride. Margaret is my joy.’
Lili arrived six days before what would have been the Duke of Edinburgh’s 100th birthday.
It is less than a month since Harry reportedly upset the Queen by making ‘very personal’ criticisms of her and Prince Charles’s parenting skills.
He said in a podcast in the US that he and Prince William had been made to ‘suffer’ as children with their father, telling them: ‘Well, it was like that for me, so it’s going to be like that for you.’
The Buckingham Palace statement came more than an hour after Hollywood stars such as William Shatner had shared their best wishes on Twitter.
The palace said: ‘The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been informed and are delighted with the news of the birth of a daughter for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.’
Lili is entitled to become a princess and Archie a prince when the Queen dies and Charles becomes king.
She is eighth in line to the throne, coming after Archie, and before Prince Andrew, who has dropped down a place to ninth.
Happy families: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's official Twitter account shared a reaction to the news with a post that read: 'We are all delighted by the happy news of the arrival of baby Lili. Congratulations to Harry, Meghan and Archie'
When Archie was born in 2019, Harry and Meghan went to extraordinary lengths to keep it a secret and even refused to confirm, either before or after the birth, where he was delivered.
The Daily Mail later revealed that the Duchess had given birth in the exclusive London Portland Hospital. It is not known when the Royal Family will get to see their newest member. They have not seen Archie since his parents left the UK in November 2019.
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