Hint, hint! Prince Harry appeared to like the name “Lily” two years before he chose his daughter’s name.
When Meghan Markle was pregnant with their now-2-year-old son, Archie, in 2019, the pair spoke to schoolchildren at a royal visit in Birkenhead. The former military pilot, 36, spoke to a mother at the time, asking her how to spell her daughter Lily’s name.
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The England native and Meghan, 39, welcomed their daughter on Friday, June 4, announcing her similar name in a statement two days later.
“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 couple’s Archewell website announced on Sunday, June 6. “She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home.”
The statement went on to explain, “Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”
Before they became parents, Harry and Meghan received “a long list of names” during an October 2018 Australian royal tour. “We’re going to sit down and have a look at them,” the former Suits alum said. At the time, her husband called Harriet a “great” name for a girl.
The pair visited a St. Anne’s Catholic Primary School three months later, and a 7-year-old named Megan Dudley told reporters that she spoke to the former actress about the name Amy. “She said, ‘That’s a really pretty name, I like it. We’ll have to think about it,’” the little one recalled in January 2019.
The new parents chose to pay tribute to Harry’s late mother with their baby boy’s name when he arrived in May 2019. One of Princess Diana’s ancestors was named Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, from Scotland. Archie means “true and bold” and “truly brave” in Scottish and German, respectively. As for the toddler’s middle name, Harrison, it translates to “son of Harry.”
Now that he’s a big brother, Archie “absolutely adores” his baby sister, a source exclusively told Us Weekly on Sunday. “He … gives her lots of kisses,” the insider explained. “He’s held her with the help of his parents.”