‘Fired off warnings of legal action’: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle deliberately crossed a boundary that left the Queen beyond ‘angry’

In June 2021, a dispute over a royal baby’s name sparked one of the most contentious moments between Queen Elizabeth II and her grandson, Prince Harry, leading to unprecedented legal threats and palace tensions. 

By 2021, the relationship between Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and the British royal family had been increasingly strained since their departure from royal duties in 2020. However, the announcement of their daughter’s name took things to a whole new level, provoking an extraordinary reaction from the customarily composed Queen Elizabeth, as revealed in Robert Hardman’s new biography Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story.

Harry and Meghan’s daughter, Lilibet, is named after Queen Elizabeth’s intimate childhood nickname, originating from her early inability to pronounce her own name. It was only used by a handful of people closest to the Queen: her parents, King George VI and the Queen Mother, her sister Princess Margaret, her husband Prince Philip, and a few close friends. The private nature of this nickname made its use particularly meaningful within royal circles. Yet, Harry and Meghan decided to turn the name into a very public affair, reportedly without proper consent.

Lilibet’s naming led to legal threats and royal anger

When Harry and Meghan announced their daughter’s name as Lilibet Diana, their spokesperson made a definitive statement: 

The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement – in fact, his grandmother was the first family member he called. During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honor. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name. 

However, according to Hardman’s book, this assertion provoked an unprecedented reaction. A palace staff member “privately recalled that Elizabeth II had been ‘as angry as I’d ever seen her’ in 2021 after the Sussexes announced that she had given them her blessing to call their baby daughter ‘Lilibet,’ the Queen’s childhood nickname.” This reveal indicates that Harry and Meghan did not have the Queen’s blessing, after all, and lied publicly about it for the whole world to hear.

The situation escalated when the BBC reported, citing palace sources, that the Queen had not been consulted about using the name. The Sussexes responded aggressively, as Hardman writes: “The couple subsequently fired off warnings of legal action against anyone who dared to suggest otherwise, as the BBC had done. However, when the Sussexes tried to co-opt the Palace into propping up their version of events, they were rebuffed.”

Some silences can be deafening. The Palace’s position underlined how Harry and Meghan’s version of the story did not represent the whole truth. It’s no wonder that “those noisy threats of legal action duly evaporated. The libel actions against the BBC never materialized.” 

While the Palace maintains that King Charles will “always” leave the door open for his youngest son, the firm stance taken during the Lilibet naming controversy signaled a new approach to managing royal communications, moving away from the traditional “never complain, never explain” policy that had guided the institution for generations. Unsurprisingly, King Charles grew apart from Prince Harry as years went by, to the point where a reconciliation now seems quite unlikely. As for Lilibet, she is the living proof of Harry and Meghan’s defiance of Royal tradition.