SHOW: Harry and Meghan share the first photo of their daughter Lili
Prince Harry and Meghan’s children, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, now use their official royal titles of prince and princess respectively.
Archie, who will be 4 in May, and Lili, who will be 2 in June, entered the titles when their grandfather, King Charles III, took the throne in September, following the death of his mother , Queen Elizabeth II.
It was unclear if Harry, fifth in line to the throne, and Meghan would use the titles for their children. The Sussexes stepped down as senior royals in 2020 and now live in Montecito, California.
The title question was answered on Wednesday when a Sussex spokesperson confirmed that Harry and Meghan had arranged a christening for Lili. In the statement, the spokesperson used Lili’s princess title.
“I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was baptized on Friday March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Reverend John Taylor,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
A royal source also confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that the official royal family website will also soon be updated to reference Archie and Lili with their titles of prince and princess.
The three children of Harry’s older brother Prince William – George, Charlotte and Louis – have always used the titles of prince and princess as William is heir to the throne.
Harry and Meghan’s decision to use the titles of prince and princess for Archie and Lili comes even as they have stepped away from their official royal roles.
In his explosive memoir ‘Spare’, published in January, Harry spoke openly about his breakup with his father and brother, saying the ‘division’ with his family ‘couldn’t be greater before this book’.
Yet he also spoke of his hope for reconciliation with his family, saying it was this hope that prompted him to speak out.
“If we can get to the point of reconciliation, it will have a ripple effect across the world,” Harry told “Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan in an interview ahead of the book’s release. “I sincerely believe that, and that’s kind of what drives me. And if that doesn’t happen, then it’s very sad.”
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Neither Kensington Palace – the office of William and Kate, Princess of Wales – nor Buckingham Palace, the office of Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, have commented on Harry’s ‘Spare’ claims.
No members of the royal family are believed to have attended Lili’s christening last week in California.
With her birth in 2021, Lili made history as the first senior royal baby born in the US and the Queen’s first great-grandchild to be born outside the UK.
She is also the first senior royal baby to be baptized in the United States. His brother Archie and their three cousins, George, Charlotte and Louis, were all baptized in the UK.
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Lili’s christening was attended by 20 to 30 guests, including her godfather Tyler Perry and her grandmother Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother, according to People magazine.
Harry and Meghan revealed in their Netflix docuseries last year that they asked Perry to be Lili’s godfather after forming a close bond with him when they moved to the US in March 2020 and stayed temporarily in Perry’s mansion in Los Angeles.
In the docuseries, Perry described the time Harry and Meghan asked him to be Lili’s godfather. The Sussexes have not released the name of the toddler’s godmother.
“They said, ‘Well, we’d like you to be Lili’s godfather. I go, ‘Wow.’ I had to take a minute to figure that out,” Perry said on ‘Harry & Meghan.’ And I thought, ‘I’d be honored. I would be absolutely honoured.'”