Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle – the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – on Wednesday confirmed their choice of a "Princess" prefix for their daughter Lilibet. The couple, who stepped back from frontline royalty in 2020 and now live in the US, revealed that their 21-month-old daughter was christened Princess Lilibet Diana at their California home last week. While Lilibet automatically became a princess when her grandfather, King Charles III, acceded to the throne in September last year. This marks the first official confirmation of the couple’s intention to use the title.
"I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor," a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said. The ceremony for Lilibet – Lili for short – took place privately at the Sussexes' home in Montecito, California. According to UK media reports, it is understood that both Lilibet and her older brother Archie, 3, will use their royal titles of princess and prince respectively in formal settings and not in everyday use. Buckingham Palace has said the official royal family website, which currently uses only “miss” and “master” for Lilibet and Archie, will "be updated in due course" to reflect the titles.
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It has also been reported that the King and Harry’s brother Prince William were among the UK-based royals invited to the private ceremony but did not attend. Relations within Britain's royal family have been strained following a controversial tell-all Netflix documentary by the Duke and Duchess and Harry’s memoir “Spare,” which revealed many intimate details involving his relationship with his father and brother. It recently led to the couple being asked to vacate their intended UK home, the royal Frogmore Cottage on the King’s Windsor Castle estate.
It had triggered speculation over whether Harry and Meghan would be welcome at Charles’ coronation as King on May 6, but a statement on behalf of the couple claimed they had been invited. The couple are yet to decide on whether they would travel to the UK for the grand coronation, with the date coinciding with Archie’s fourth birthday.
