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Queen Elizabeth II finally met her great-granddaughter Lilibet, Page Six has learned.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took their baby girl to meet the 96-year-old monarch briefly when they landed in London on Wednesday. The Sussexes and their children then spent more time with the Queen at Windsor Castle on Friday night, just hours before Lili’s 1st birthday.
We’re told the royal family plans to commemorate the tot’s birth with a private party on Saturday. It’s possible the Queen is in attendance for the silent party as she has canceled her scheduled appearance at the Epsom Derby.
Friday’s meeting came on the same day that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended a Thanksgiving service for the Queen at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, where they sat at a distance from Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Her Majesty did not attend the service because she was “unwell” during Thursday’s Trooping the Color event.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex previously announced that the nickname they chose for their daughter was an ode to the Queen’s childhood nickname, used only by her closest family members, including late husband Prince Philip.
“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet,” read a statement released in 2020 by Harry, 37, and Markle, 40.
Sources close to the couple – who also share 3-year-old son Archie – told Page Six at the time that Harry had told his grandmother they planned to use the name.
However, there was soon an uproar over conflicting reports, as palace sources insisted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had not asked the monarch’s permission.
BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond reported that the Queen was “never asked for her opinion on Harry and Markle’s decision” to name their second child after her.
“A source at the palace told the BBC that the Queen was not asked by Meghan and Harry about the use of her childhood nickname.” Dymond tweeted. “Reports indicated that Harry had obtained Queen’s permission to name the newborn ‘Lilibet’; but the palace source says the queen was ‘never asked’.”
Regardless, the Sussexes were excited to introduce their California-born daughter to the Queen during the little girl’s first-ever trip to the UK, Page Six is told.
We understand the family stayed at Frogmore Cottage near Windsor Castle during their trip to Harry’s home country for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Harry and Markle both appeared at the Trooping the Color military ceremony on Thursday and the Thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday.
It is believed that Prince Charles also met his granddaughter for the first time during the Sussexes’ recent trip to the UK, although she did not meet her uncle William, aunt Kate Middleton or three cousins from Cambridge.
The trip marked Archie’s first trip back to the UK since the family moved to the US in 2020. Shortly after his birth, he appeared in a historic photo with the Queen, Prince Philip, Harry and Markle alongside the mother of the former ‘Suits’ -Stars. Doria Ragland.
The only family members Lili reportedly met prior to this visit were Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank and their little boy August, who was staying with the couple at their home in Montecito, California in February.
