Princess Lilibet turns 3 on June 4, 2024, and her world-famous parents Prince Harry and Meghan Markle already had early festivities before her special day.
The royal couple hosted a pre-birthday bash over the weekend at their home in California. Guests in attendance included close friends and family as well as some of the birthday girl’s pals.
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Princess Lilibet, dated December 8, 2022 | Source: YouTube/AccessHollywood
Princess Lilibet was born away from British soil after her parents stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the arrival of their only daughter on the Archwell Foundation website.
Meghan Markle, Princess Lilibet, Prince Harry and Prince Archie, dated June 6, 2023 | Source: YouTube/Entertainment Tonight
The pair revealed their youngest child was named after Queen Elizabeth II’s family nickname. In addition, they named her after her grandmother Princess Diana which is Lilibet’s middle name.
Princess Lilibet, Meghan Markle and Prince Archie, dated June 6, 2023 | Source: YouTube/Entertainment Tonight
In the announcement, Prince Harry and his wife Markle, who have since relocated to the US, also referred to their daughter as Lili, a nickname they gave her.
Princess Lilibet, dated March 9, 2023 | Source: YouTube/InsideEdition
As previously reported in June 2022, all eyes were on the Royal Family after the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, which coincided with the birthday of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter, Lilibet in 2022. With new photos released of the girl, fans were divided as to who she looked like more: her uncle, her parents, or the late Princess Diana.
Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on June 4, 2021, at a Santa Barbara hospital in California to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The young child met her dad’s side of the family for the first time as they flew into the U.K. for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The child was named after Queen Elizabeth II, whose moniker “Lilibet” was used by her father, King George VI, and was carried on by certain members of the Royal Family like her late husband, Prince Philip, and her cousin, Princess Alexandra.
Queen Elizabeth poses for a picture during childhood circa the 1930s. | Source: Getty Images
Given Harry and Meghan’s move to California and their evident distancing from the Royal Family, the public questioned whether they got Queen Elizabeth’s blessing before naming their second child after her. According to a spokesperson for the couple, the name was given with the Queen’s consent.
Harry and Meghan were persistent in naming their daughter after the Queen, as they wanted to honor her and the close relationship they had through the years. A spokesperson for the couple once shared:
“The Duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement. In fact, his grandmother was the first family member he called.”
The spokesperson also added that had Queen Elizabeth not been supportive, Harry and Meghan would not have used the name “Lilibet” in the first place. Lili was also named after Harry’s dear mother, Princess Diana.
The Royal Family had their hands full during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, coinciding with Lilibet’s first birthday on June 4, 2022. In celebration of the young girl’s milestone, her parents released new photos from her birthday party, which took place at the Frogmore Cottage.
The new photos of Lilibet were taken during a casual, intimate backyard party where family and close friends celebrated her birthday. Although Prince William and his family were reportedly invited, they could not go due to prior commitments for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Photographer Misan Harriman took the adorable photos of the young tot, showing a glimpse of how her party turned out, complete with a picnic and face painting activities for the kids. She was the same photographer who took Meghan’s maternity photos last year when Lilibet was still in utero.
After the new photos of Lilibet were released, fans were delighted to see a glimpse of how she looked. They flocked to the comments to share who they thought Lilibet looked like more.
One fan mentioned that the only difference between Lilibet and Prince Harry was their gender. The fan named Thelma also gushed about Prince Harry being a proud dad to his daughter, and not overlooking her like some had previously assumed.
Another fan couldn’t help but post pictures of a grown-up Harry alongside Lilibet to show their striking resemblance. The fan said: “I can’t believe how hard [Prince Harry’s] genes beat [Meghan] up.”
A fan was amazed at how Prince Harry seemed to have “cloned” himself, given that he and Lilibet share the same ginger hair and curious eyes.
However, a few fans think Lilibet is her mom Meghan’s “twin,” but with ginger hair. “You see Harry as a baby in Lilibet Diana, but I see Meghan as a baby with ginger hair,” one fan said.
Some Royal Family enthusiasts went so far as to search for old photos of the late Princess Diana to prove her resemblance with Lilibet. They posted photos of Diana as a child, alongside Lilibet’s new photo.
Another fan shared a photo of the late Princess Diana in her youth, showing her ginger hair. This prompted another fan to conclude that “Lilibet is her grandma [Diana’s] twin.”
While there are fans who believe she looks a lot like her dad’s side of the family, there are also some who noticed the resemblance the young child has with her mom’s brother. “[…] I think she definitely got the Markle genes. She’s very cute [and] looks exactly like Meghan’s brother,” one fan weighed in.
Thomas Markle Jr. at the Rocco’s Collision Presents Celebrity Boxing 68: Thomas Markle Jr v Nacho Press Conference on May 15, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | Source: Getty Images
As Lilibet and her older brother, Archie’s ginger locks are evident in photos; many have come to realize that Meghan Markle carries the redhead gene. Since red hair, carried by the MCR1 gene, is recessive, it should be present in both parents to appear in a child.
While Prince Harry has always been proud of his red hair, which he got from Diana’s side of the family, it is clear that the gene also appears in the Markle bloodline. Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., also has red hair, which suggests that the gene is present in their family.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. | Source: Getty Images
Amidst the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, she finally met her namesake great-grandchild for the very first time. As Harry and Meghan reside in California, the celebration marks one of the few times that Archie and Lilibet can spend time with Harry’s side of the family.
In May 2022, it was previously reported that the Queen looked forward to spending time with Archie and Lilibet, while Harry and Meghan were excited and even honored to participate in the special celebration despite no longer being working members of the Royal Family.
Fans could see Harry, Meghan, and their children during the Queen’s celebrations, but they were not present in all events as they were no longer “working Royals.” This came after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex uprooted to the U.S. and gave a controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey, which caused a rift with the Royal Family.
Queen Elizabeth II assured the public that Harry and his family remained loved despite the rift. However, the truth of this remains a mystery, as they have yet to be photographed with immediate family members like Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, Kate Middleton, or their children.
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