Meghan and Harry shared the news of the birth of Lilibet earlier with a statement:
And a more personal one on their Archewell website:
With the sweetest personal message:
“On June 4th, 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.”
The name:
Meghan and Harry named Lilibet in honor of the Queen. The nickname goes back to when the Queen was too young to pronounce her own name, calling herself ‘Lilibet’ instead of Elizabeth. When she was young, she would sign letters using Lilibet.
She used the name in a thank you note to her grandmother, Queen Mary, saying: ‘Darling Granny. Thank you very much for the lovely doll’s house. I do love it, and I have unpacked the dining room and the hall. Love from Lilibet xxx.’
Her parents and grandparents also took up the nickname, with her father, King George VI, once saying: ‘Lilibet is my pride. Margaret is my joy.’
Although the late Duke of Edinburg also used the name affectionately, no one else in the royal family calls the Queen Lilibet. I remember reading an article a couple of months ago saying that the name “Lilibet” will no longer be used after he died because he was the only one calling her that.
With the arrival of Lilibet it will live longer now.
Meghan and Harry named her: Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-windsor. Let’s have a look of the meaning behind the names:
Lilibet: Blend of Lily: (the flower; innocence; purity; beauty) and Elizabeth: (My God is bountiful; God of plenty).
Thirteen baby girls were name Lilibeth in the US in 2020 but fewer than five were named Lilibet. I expect those proportions to reverse with the naming Baby Sussex 2 though
Diana: Diana a name of Greek origin that means Divine.
The name is originally a contraction of “Diviana”. Diana is also a Roman Goddess of the moon and the hunt.
Mountbatten Windsor: Mountbatten-Windsor is the personal surname used by some of the male-line descendants of the Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh. Under a declaration revealed in 1960, the name Mountbatten-Windsor applies to royals without royal styles and titles. Royals with royal styles do not usually use a surname. Instead, they´re often styled as Duke and Duchess, but some descendants of the Queen with royal styles had used Mountbatten-Windsor when a surname was required.
Meghan gave birth at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital
The hospital is about an hours drive away from their home:
Some info about the hospital:
“The 465-bed Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital is the largest medical facility on the California coast between Los Angeles and the San Francisco bay area. The hospital dates back to 1888, when 50 women began raising funds to build a “cottage-style” hospital for the growing community. Their original plans called for a complex in which each medical specialty would be housed in a separate bungalow. Even then, however, such a decentralized plan was too costly, so work began instead on a single cottage for all hospital departments. The first Cottage Hospital opened in 1891, with 25 beds housed in a two-story Victorian building. Now a hugh medical complex employing some 1,500 people, the hospital continues to be called “Cottage” after the original home-like building. Rodney J. Lamb has been Hospital Administrator for the last 30 years.”
Lilibet was born, weighing 7lbs 11 oz – For comparison, Archie weighed 7lb 3oz.
And for those asking: Even though Meghan and Harry have stepped down as senior royal family members, Lilibet is high up in the royal line of succession.
How high up? Well, let’s say that a whole lot of royals just got bumped down the line today. Among them are Princesses Beatrice, Eugenie, and Prince Charles’s siblings Andrew, Edward, and Anne.
The current line of succession now Lilibet is born:
⦁ Queen Elizabeth II
⦁ Prince Charles
⦁ Prince William
⦁ Prince George
⦁ Princess Charlotte
⦁ Prince Louis
⦁ Prince Harry
⦁ Archie Mountbatten-Windsor
⦁ Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor
⦁ Prince Andrew
⦁ Princess Beatrice
⦁ Princess Eugenie
Just as they did with Archie, Meghan and Harry chose four organizations closest to their hearts that support and uplift women worldwide for people to donate for those who wish to congratulate them on Lili’s arrival: Girls Inc., Harvest Home, CAMFED, or Myna Mahila Foundation.
Girls Inc:
Back in April Meghan teamed up with Girls Inc. and the National Women’s Law Center to bring together a cross-section of adolescent girls and listen to their experiences, concerns for the future, and the wide-array of issues their generation is facing—all while reflecting on the history of women who have initiated great cultural change.
From their website:
“Girls Inc. was founded in 1864 to serve girls and young women who were experiencing upheaval in the aftermath of the Civil War. Across the decades, we adapted to meet the specific environmental challenges facing girls and young women, always working in partnership with schools and communities, and guided by our founders’ fundamental belief in the inherent potential of each girl. Woven into those early girls’ clubs are the same core values of Girls Inc. today: the importance of creating a safe gathering place for girls to learn and to share in a sisterhood and a strong premise that each girl can develop her own capacities, self- confidence, and grow up healthy, educated, and independent.”
Harvest Home
Back in May Meghan and Harry celebrated Mother’s Day by giving to the local charity that supports unhoused expecting mothers. A statement posted to their Archewell Foundation website said: “In honor of Mother’s Day, Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are recognizing the work of Harvest Home, a Los Angeles–based organization that uplifts expectant mothers who are experiencing homelessness.”
From their website:
“We aim to equip each new mom with the education and tools needed to make healthy, loving, and intentional decisions for her child. We provide childbirth classes, doula support, infant care classes, parenting groups and mentoring to each woman as she prepares for the journey of motherhood.”
CAMFED:
On Harry’s birthday last year Meghan and Harry made a gift of $130,000 to CAMFED. They decided to match the extraordinary fundraising efforts of the “Sussex Squad,” who had launched a higher education scholarships fundraiser for CAMFED on Meghan’s birthday, August 4th, raising $129,926. The couple sent the following message to supporters:
“No better way to celebrate what really matters. Thank you to everyone who donated!” – Harry and Meghan
A picture of Harry talking to to Angeline Murimirwa, the Executive Director of Africa CAMFED, during his visit to the Nalikule College of Education in Malawi on day seven of the royal tour of Africa.
Myna Mahila Foundation:
Myna Mahila Foundation is a charity which empowers women in Mumbai’s urban slums, by providing them with a trusted network, where they are supported professionally and personally to help them grow as individuals and businesswomen. Meghan saw the work of the Foundation first hand when she visited the charity in 2016, and wrote about it in Time Magazine.
From their website:
“Myna was built as a social enterprise with a clear vision of wanting to generate employment for women by creating a workplace and environment that tries and succeeds to tackle the constraints used as arguments to prevent women to enter in the labour force.
It is a safe space, at walking distance from their homes that provides them a steady salary and flexible timings adapted to their social context. Myna Mahila is more than an employer in Mumbai Slums, it was created by women for women and is as such a woman’s entrepreneurial project in what is commonly considered to be an unlikely place but is actually full of incredible potential!”
Many people congratulated Meghan and Harry:
And just a little fun fact:
So Happy for you all for the birth of your new Daughter and new Sister for Archie! May God bless her!!!
Amen 🙂
Congratulations to your beautiful family Harry and Meghan. Thank God for it’s a safe delivery .
It’s so amazing 🙂
Nice, I loved it!