Tominey: The name Lilibet was the Sussexes’ ‘final insult to Queen Elizabeth’

Curious how every single royal reporter had an opinion on the name Lilibet, and those opinions are the focus of countless columns, articles, exclusives, cover stories and history lessons. Curious that none of that energy has been brought to Prince Andrew’s name appearing all over the newly unsealed Epstein files. While many of the Andrew stories have been out there (in various forms) for years, it’s clear that to the royal establishment, the credible accusations of rape against Prince Andrew are less important and significant than Prince Harry giving his daughter his grandmother’s nickname as a tribute. The entire royal rota has spent the past four days trying to convince everyone that QEII was furious, enraged and deeply upset about her great-granddaughter’s name and not Andrew’s crimes. Speaking of, Camilla Tominey’s latest Telegraph column is “How using ‘Lilibet’ became Harry and Meghan’s final insult to Queen Elizabeth.” Sub-head: “In recycling the affectionate nickname, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may have broken royal protocol and widened a family rift.” I’ll spare you Tominey’s exhaustive history on how QEII’s family called her Lilibet, but here’s the meat of the story:

Until the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter, it was a name associated with only one woman in the world. For decades “Lilibet” had been the late Queen’s cherished nickname – used only by those closest to the former monarch.

When the Duke of Edinburgh died in April 2021, his beloved wife of 73 years left a handwritten note on her late husband’s coffin, signing it “Lilibet”. Little wonder, then, that there was such consternation when, less than two months later, the Sussexes announced the birth of their second child “Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor” on June 4 2021.

Debate still rages over whether they asked the late Queen’s permission first – in accordance with royal protocol. It is perhaps worth revisiting what happened at the time. The Archewell announcement of Lilibet’s birth in June 2021 read: “Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet.”

Shortly afterwards, the couple’s spokesman told The Telegraph: “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.”

However, the BBC then reported a palace source saying that the Queen “was not asked by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex about naming their daughter Lilibet”. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex accused the BBC of libel, instructing lawyers to tell media organisations the claim was “false and defamatory”. When asked by The Telegraph, the Palace declined to deny suggestions that the Queen was “never asked”. A source suggested that the Queen was “told” about the name after the baby was born, rather than her permission being sought in advance.

Supporters of the Sussexes claim courtiers may have exaggerated the late Queen’s ire to exact revenge on Harry and Meghan.

Whatever the truth of the naming of the second Princess Lilibet, there has seldom been a more endeared epithet in the illustrious history of the Mountbatten-Windsors.

[From The Telegraph]

Tominey’s piece had the feel of something which had been edited at the last moment – where is the smoking gun which definitively proves that the Sussexes’ intention was to “insult” the queen or that they broke royal protocol? Harry called his grandmother and told her about the name or asked permission. They spoke, and regardless of what QEII felt (but did not say), Harry believed that QEII approved of the name. As I’ve said many times, I’ve always believed that QEII simply didn’t tell her courtiers about the name ahead of time, which is what led to “royal sources” racing to the BBC to lie about how Harry never communicated with his grandmother. The snub/broken royal protocol angle was always part of QEII not informing her courtiers about private conversations she had with her grandson. As we also saw, QEII could keep a secret – she invited the Sussexes to Windsor Castle just before Easter 2022, and no one leaked it ahead of time (because QEII kept it close-hold).

Note by CB: Harry and Meghan say they got Queen Elizabeth’s blessing to name their daughter after her nickname, but the courtiers and royal rota disagree! Sign up for our mailing list and get the top 10 stories about the drama over Lilibet’s name. We only send one email a day on weekdays.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Netflix and Misan Harriman/the Sussexes.