When Harry and Meghan announced the birth of their daughter Lilibet Diana, royal fans couldn’t help but express their excitement.
WATCH BELOW: Meghan & Harry beam as crowd cheer in one of their last royal events
“It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world. Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA,” the official statement read.
“She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home.”
Whilst Lili may only be a few days old and fans haven’t even seen a photo of her yet, she is already making waves for more than one reason.
A trendsetting name
The newest member of the royal family has big shoes to fill as she’s named after two of The Firm’s most iconic figures.
Whilst the first part is a tribute to Queen Elizabeth’s childhood nickname that arose when the little princess adorably couldn’t pronounce Elizabeth, Harry and Meghan’s choice for the middle name is of course a nod to the late Princess Diana, Lili’s paternal grandmother.
Whilst Diana was one of the bookies’ favourites when the Sussexes’ second pregnancy was announced, Lilibet came out of the blue. In fact, according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, no baby girls born in England or Wales in 2019 were named Lilibet, but there were four Lilibeths.
“Think we can expect to see an awful lot of little Lilibets and Dianas in school reception classes, in about five years time…” one royal fan mused on Twitter.
We may also see a surge in the name Lili/Lily, which was ranked the ninth most popular girl’s name in 2019.
A first for the Queen
As the second born child to Prince Harry, Lili is also now officially eighth in line to the throne and officially ahead of Prince Andrew, who back when he was born used to be the second.
Though she is the Queen’s eleventh great-grandchild, Lili is her first to be born outside the UK and one of the the first British royals to be born in the United States.
The first was Maud Windsor, the daughter of Harry’s distant cousin Lord Frederick Windsor and 51st in line to the throne, who was born in Los Angeles back in 2013.
An American Queen or perhaps a future Madam President
As the eighth in line, it’s possible (although highly unlikely) that she could be Britain’s first Queen with an American accent.
Like her big brother Archie, Lili will hold both British and US citizenship but down the track if either she or Archie have their own children outside of the UK, they will have to apply for British citizenship.
Should she decide to venture into politics, however, Harry and Meghan’s daughter could also hypothetically run for President of the United States as she was born on American soil.
Big things could be coming for little Lili!
Limited appearances
Alternatively, Lili Mountbatten-Windsor and her brother may have a more low-key life unlike her cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis who have a lifetime of royal duties ahead of them.
Traditionally, we see royal babies in official photo shoots and at events such as their christening, but since Harry and Meghan seem to have shunned all that pomp and ceremony, it’s likely that the only pics we’ll see of Lili will be on their Archewell website.
It seems that the Sussex family are settled in California and won’t be returning to the UK anytime soon and resuming their senior royal roles and having their HRH titles reinstated.
Only time will tell…
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