Royal fans divided over Harry, Meghan giving baby the Queen’s nickname

Prince Harry and wife Meghan announced the arrival of their second child — a baby girl with the adorable name Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor — over the weekend. While the majority of royal fans celebrated the happy news, others have questioned the choice of name.

According to a statement released by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Lili was named after her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. Lilibet was a nickname given to the Queen when she was a child because she couldn’t say ‘Elizabeth’ properly. It was how the late Prince Philip lovingly referred to his wife in private for much of their marriage, and it’s believed he was the last person who still called her by the nickname.

The decision by Harry and Meghan to use the private nickname for their newborn girl has raised a few eyebrows among Brits, with some saying “it’s a bit odd” considering that Harry and Meghan have tried so hard to distance themselves from the royal family in the past year. The couple officially stepped down as senior royals in February this year, and now live in Santa Barbara, California, with their two-year-old son Archie and newborn daughter.

Twitter user @danwootton questioned, “Am I the only one thinking it’s a bit odd they would give their child a name so connected to the royal family they’re so desperate to distance themselves from?”

Commenter @loveforcambridg agreed, saying, “It’s totally okay to have Diana there, but Lilibet is the nickname of the woman that was a bad mother to his father resulting on H’s [Harry’s] bad life.” The Twitter user was making reference to a controversial comment made by the prince in mid-May on the Armchair Expert podcast. During the tell-all chat, the 36-year-old accused his father of inflicting “genetic pain” on him, and blamed the Queen and Prince Philip for enforcing a cycle of poor parenting decisions in the royal family.

Another Twitter user @MeeToo63 said, “I find it disrespectful that they are using the nickname of the Monarch, instead of Elizabeth. The nickname was given to HM by those who loved her and were close to her. It’s a slap in the face to appropriate oneself of such nickname.”

As usual, British journalist Piers Morgan wasn’t shy to voice his opinions either, saying, “You have this couple who have been trashing the royal family and the monarchy for the past few weeks and they have named the baby after the Queen. Maybe it’s their way of ‘reaching out’, as the Americans say, to the royals and an end to this on-running feud.”

Others, however, thought the choice was fitting, with @auntierhon45 writing, “Well done! You have just captured the Queen’s heart and Princess Di’s legacy continues.” And @belledujour208 added, “How beautiful to give her those special names! I hope she has a happy life.”

Despite what royal commentators may think, Prince Harry reportedly called the Queen to ask permission before naming his daughter after her.