Prince Harry Hinted At His Newborn Daughter’s Name Before Archie Was Even Born

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the world shed a collective tear when they announced the birth of their daughter, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, and revealed the sentimental meaning behind her name. But as it turns out, Prince Harry actually hinted at his newborn daughter’s name two years ago.

On June 6, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced in a statement that their second child was born on June 4 in Santa Barbara, near their new California home in Montecito. As reported by PEOPLE on June 6, Harry and Meghan paid a visit to the town of Birkenhead back in 2019, when she was pregnant with their first child but the sex was unknown. While talking to a group of young students, they asked for baby name suggestions. Apparently, Harry really liked the name “Lily” and asked the child’s mother how she spelled her daughter’s name. Of course, Meghan gave birth to their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor later that year, meaning the name “Lily” was off the table — until now.

Evidently, the couple changed the spelling slightly to “Lili” to honor Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth, and they also confirmed that she was named in honor of his mother Princess Diana. “Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet,” the statement read. “Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”

However, things could’ve been different. On the same visit, a 7-year-old girl named Megan Dudley suggested the name “Amy” to Meghan. “I asked her whether she would call her baby Amy if she has a girl, and she said, ‘That’s a really pretty name, I like it. We’ll have to think about it,’” Dudley told reporters. During the couple’s royal tour of Australia in 2018, they also spoke about the name Harriet — the female version of Harry’s name — with the Duke calling it a “great name.”

Baby Lilibet also made history in another way: She’s officially the first of Queen Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren to be born outside of the UK. However, contrary to what you may think, she’s not even the first Royal to be born in California, let alone the U.S. Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Queen Elizabeth’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent, and his wife Sophie Winkleman welcomed their daughter Maud Windsor in Los Angeles in August 2013. However, the family has since relocated back in the UK, something that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aren’t likely to do anytime soon.

Nonetheless, the royal family is overjoyed about Lilibet and the origins of her name. The royal family’s official Twitter account posted a statement celebrating her arrival. “Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of Lilibet Diana!” the tweet read. “The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted with the news. Lilibet is Her Majesty’s 11th great-grandchild.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton also shared their own support for William’s brother on Instagram. “We are all delighted by the happy news of the arrival of baby Lili,” they wrote. “Congratulations to Harry, Meghan and Archie.” In fact, Lili shares her middle name “Diana” with William and Kate’s own daughter Princess Charlotte. Perhaps this will bond the estranged siblings once again.