Prince Harry Admitted He Liked The Name Lili Years Ago

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are tickled pink with the arrival of their newborn daughter! According to the couple's Archewell website, Lilibet "Lili" Diana made her way into the world on June 4 at 11:40 a.m. Lili and her mom are both "healthy and well" and are already "settling in at home." In their statement, Meghan and Harry shared the special meaning behind Lili's name. While most people know that her middle name is a nod to her late grandmother, Diana, the Princess of Wales, many didn't realize that Lilibet is in honor of her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth. According to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the queen's "family nickname" is Lilibet.

Before the baby was born, oddsmakers had reported that the most popular name was Phillipa, which would have been a nod to Harry's grandfather, Prince Philip, who died on April 9. According to People magazine, other names in the betting pool included Diana and Elizabeth, though not specifically Lilibet or Lili. Interestingly, Harry may have actually hinted that he liked the name two years ago during a visit to a school in Birkenhead. Keep reading to find out more.

Prince Harry has been in full-on dad mode since he and Meghan Markle welcomed their son Archie back in 2019. At that time, Harry apparently had baby names on the brain — and not just boy names either. According to People magazine, Harry got to talking to the mother of a child named Lily during the school visit, and specifically asked her about how she spelled her daughter Lily's name. Since Lily is traditionally spelled with a "y" at the end, it's possible that Harry was checking to see if spelling it with an "i" was all that uncommon. This suggests that Harry and Meghan were already thinking about the name Lili — or Lilibet — before they even knew that they were expecting a baby girl.

As fate would have it, a little girl would make them a family of four two years later, and the Sussex's ended up going with the name that Harry had inquired about way back when! The baby's moniker must have delighted Queen Elizabeth, though the palace's statement about the child's birth wasn't filled with too much emotion. "The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been informed and are delighted with the news of the birth of a daughter for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex," the palace said, according to a tweet shared by royal editor Omid Scobie. The child's sweet name was not mentioned.