The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor on Friday, and announced the news on their Archewell site at 9 am in California on Sunday. The news dropping that way was a surprise and a flex from Meghan and Harry, and you could also tell that the royal palaces were taken off guard too. They hadn’t prepared statements, and H&M did not coordinate the announcement with them at all. Usually that’s the way it works – the parents of a new baby will announce their news, and within minutes, the other royal houses will have a coordinated series of congratulations. On Sunday, it took Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace more than an hour to scramble and coordinate their statements among themselves. Apparently, Harry gave his grandmother a head’s up that they would name the baby after her, but courtiers were still blindsided (hahahaha) about the birth announcement:
The 7lbs 11oz baby – whose middle name is Diana – was born on Friday evening, British time. It is understood the Queen was informed by Prince Harry that her great-grandchild would be named in her honour, ahead of their official announcement which was made on their official website. However, Buckingham Palace appeared to be caught off guard by the timing of the Sussexes’ news with a spokesman for the palace congratulating the couple 90 minutes after the announcement broke.
‘Lilibet’ was coined by the 95-year-old monarch when she was too young to pronounce her own name. Harry and Meghan’s daughter will be known as Lili Diana. Her late grandmother’s 60th birthday would have been next month.
Buckingham Palace officials were unaware the baby had been born until the announcement came out at 5pm last night on social media. They finally released a statement hailing the ‘happy news’ at 6.34pm, emphasising the gulf that now exists between the Sussexes and the palace.
Buckingham Palace declined to discuss when the Queen was informed of the safe arrival of her newest great-grandchild or whether she was advised of the tribute to her in Lili’s name.
The name Lilibet was coined by the Queen and used by her younger sister Margaret and their parents. George VI once said: ‘Lilibet is my pride. Margaret is my joy.’
Lili arrived six days before what would have been the Duke of Edinburgh’s 100th birthday.
The Buckingham Palace statement came more than an hour after Hollywood stars such as William Shatner had shared their best wishes on Twitter. The palace said: ‘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.’
LMAO Harry didn’t call them all weekend. He was like “they’ll find out when everyone else finds out.” Which is fine with me! If those people wanted to find out what’s happening in Harry and Meghan’s lives, they shouldn’t have talked so much sh-t. There’s also a theory going around that Harry did call his grandmother to tell her about the birth of Lili, and Liz just didn’t tell the courtiers. Which would also be pretty f–king funny.
The courtiers chose a nice photo from the Sussexes’ wedding to go along with their congrats:
Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of Lilibet Diana! 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. pic.twitter.com/dGVeRpd3pK
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 6, 2021
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.
I love the idea of the Queen having a secret burner phone tucked away in her bra to keep the courtiers at bay.
Yes! It could be in the purse she always carries! Haha.
Harry DID say he and Meg are calling TQ DIRECTLY now, so I’m thinking, yeah…she ALWAYS has that damned purse on her arm, or on the floor where she sits, even in the house lol
I LOVE the idea that they bypassed all of the grey men, CH, and KP. If they wanted them OUT, then this is what they reap. Having cut them loose, to flounder w/o a home or security to keep them safe from all those nuts who are running loose on The Daily Heil (and around the world), H&M don’t owe them ANYTHING in advance or otherwise.
I love that Harry once again showed his strategic planning and outsmarted the womb watchers. I like the name Lilibet. It got the derangers and racists up in arms. The queen approved it and it proves Harry was telling the truth when he said he speaks to the queen more now than when he was in the UK.
The nasty comments on DM were just beyond all reasoning. And yes, H&M stated they have no issue with Liz and this proved it.
I always had the feeling he took after Phillip in many ways (not in the racism, but a certain cheeky joi de vivre combined with rugged physicality and commitment to military service) and I’m sure that brings some happiness to the queen.
@mahcat I see that too. He’s a perfect blend of Diana and Philip but not a lot of Windsor.
Burner phone on one side, flask in the other. 😀
Flanked by Corgi Security teams on the side lol. What a visual!
Is this wonderful item commercially available? If so, everyone I know is getting one for Christmas.
Lol burner phone guarded by the corgis.
Yes! That’s the first thing that occurred to me when Harry told James Corden he’d spoken to TQ more in the last year than ever. Burner phone! But, who sets up her Zoom calls with him? From how he joked about Philip just closing the device rather than hitting leave meeting, sounds like that’s done on a computer.
➕💯 SNUFFLES. I love the idea, Harry called his grandmother directly and she kept it to herself. Seems to me, BP announced after the Oprah interview that the Queen officially told all of them to ‘shut their shit down’ and not one of them did: not Charles, not William, not Kate, not even Sophie. Payback is a bitch. 😎
Remember the story of Harry changing the message on her private voice mail years ago? For the Queen, press one. For Philip, press two. For the corgis, press three.
Yes that’s a sights! Also think the queen is secretly a snob about a modern name/spelling of Lili. She will of course say she’s honored but they are such fuddiduddies
I have to admit…..I didn’t like that Lili is after petty Betty; the woman has never spoken about anything to support H&M or anyone else for that matter! people keep excusing her as if she has no agency at all.
I would have liked Lili Diana MW with no reference to lizbeth….anyway, it is not my child and I support Meg and her family. So I do love the name Lili Diana and for me Meg’s daughter is Lili D
All the happiness in the world for the Sussexes and I am sad we won’t see Meg do any promotional work for the #TheBench
to me this is one of those good indications that we don’t actually know the full story or what Harry’s relationship is like with his family. obviously him and Megan wanted to honor the queen in this way, so their relationship must be pretty good. I don’t think it’s up to us to question that.
I agree with you….after everything that the Sussexes have been through, where was petty betty?
Are we going to accuse a company without holding the CEO accountable?
Anyway, I 100% support Meg and by extension H as well….I just happy they are enjoying their own bundle of joy right now
The Queen is ultimately accountable as she is the CEO. But you can be the CEO and be incompetent OR be so insulated and isolated that you don’t really know what is actually going on, which is what I think is going on currently in the Firm and I think it explains part of why things have been such a clusterf*ck over the past few years. I think the Queen has checked out on the CEO part of things, and with Philip retired and now passed, he wasn’t there to control the family.
At any rate I think this makes clear that for whatever reason Harry does not blame his grandmother at all for what has happened over the past few years, which is interesting because it makes you wonder what exactly is happening over there.
I’m with you both on this. It seems odd that she gets such a pass when all of this happened on her watch. Not to mention all the other racist stuff we’ve been hearing about with the royals. When you think of white supremacy, who could be more of a figurehead of that than the Queen? How can you talk about genetic pain and suffering or a family intrenched in racism and colonialism and not hold the head of that family/firm accountable in some way?
The DM is making out this is some sort of an olive branch to show how they still care so much about the Queen but in my mind it just undermines everything they’ve been saying. Wasn’t the Queen the one who decided they couldn’t be half in/half out?
@becks I think the Queen has been largely checked out the past 5 years or so. And I agree, a huge sign of this is the fact that BP, KP and CH are completely out of sync competing and briefing against each other and the Cambridges/KP weren’t checked when they began their campaign to bully Meghan out of the family.
Yep agree. I said something along those lines to myself yesterday. I just don’t understand this institution/the family dynamics, I don’t think I ever will. I’m not a fan of royalty but I root for Meghan and Harry and wish the best for their children.
IMVHO, we can debate, question and argue this topic till we’re blue in the face but at the end of the day, we all are just fans/outsiders/onlookers and it would be really common courtesy to take our rightful place in the matter. We as outsiders know zilch about what exactly happened to both Harry and Meghan, who exactly was responsible and who should shoulder all the blame. I mean we can speculate, but again, we.do.not.know.for.sure. In that vein then, it would be really nice if this entire thread is not once again filled up with questioning whether Meghan and Harry experience or abuse is really as bad as they said it was; it would be awesome if the hand wringing about the name choice and who the baby is named after etc etc doesn’t get out of control like it did yesterday. We don’t know why the Sussexes chose to give their baby those names, we don’t know why they chose to honor Betty and Diana and not Meghan’s family, we really don’t know nothing that the Sussexes haven’t told us and IMVHO, we as fans do not have the right to bash them for (or for not) giving their baby girl this or the other name. 🤷🏾♂️
Alissa I concur and if they didn’t tell the Queen about the birth that’s because she would run and telll that” to those conniving Royal leakers. She would not have been able to keep that to herself. Can’t say I blame her.
And yes we do not know what their relationship is. We on the outside assume based on what we read but I do believe they have a close relationship and do talk regularly. If Lilibet is fine with them it is fine with me. Sophie of whatever might be right. They are a family after all.
This just shows that those so called Royal Experts are just a bunch of liars out to make coin of the Sussexes.
If they had chosen another name, the haters will be like ” they snubbed the Queen, these brats blah blah”. They honor her, and they still snipping like vipers. In fact last night the Daily Fail started on they might not have asked the Queen’s permission…. now that is debunked. Ridiculous people.
We only know like 5% of what is going on with that family. Harry and Meghan are not going to name their daughter after someone they hate. I find it interesting that Archie is not named after Charles at all.
The Fail doesn’t have the inside track of their mindset & whether this name means reconciliation with the firm. he was just on that Apple series talking about the firm working with the media to smear Meghan about bullying. And they were going with a story that Harry was telling people Meghan was due on Thursday and the baby would be called Pip in tribute to Philip so you should know by now the Fail is full of crap about a pair who have each beaten them in litigation recently.
It’s also a stretch to claim that affection for his grandma undermines their claims against the royal family. It’s like saying someone who files a police claim for domestic violence & then reconciles with her partner is lying. Life isn’t as straightforward as that and people can still love people that hurt them.
Whilst I think she’s an awful leader & head of a prejudiced and corrupt organisation that has no place in what should be a modern society, perhaps she’s been a decent grandmother & commander of chief to Harry & this name reflects whatever affection they have of her as a elderly grandmother not a monarch
Meghan said something about distinguishing between the individual and the institution & that Elizabeth had been wonderful to her on Oprah& Harry talked about having a great understanding with her and that she is getting bad advice. It was also said that she told Harry to run their half in plan by Charles so it wouldn’t be surprising if she wasn’t in charge of some of the consultations around their future generally eg decisions around eg Archie’s title. Richard Palmer also talked about her being disappointed about their lawsuits but her going to Frogmore & trying to settle them when the family had distanced themselves. so maybe they have appreciated her pastoral care.
For whatever reason they don’t seem to blame her for what went down & whilst it’s always possible that Harry has a blind spot towards her, guess they know more of how it works behind palace doors.
@BABSORIG I get what you’re saying but I don’t think anyone is questioning whether or not H&M suffered abuse. All too often it seems as though fans of various celebs blindly follow the source of their affection without question. The ability to think critically about what you’re presented with is healthy. If we are going to shug and say ‘well we are just fans and don’t know the details’ then surely that should be applied to everything we are commenting on.
But we do have evidence of how Meghan was treated by the firm with multiple reporters saying the firm was leaking to them, report tying Dan Wootton & Christian Jones partner, Valentino Low confirming Meghan being in distress in summer 2019 was leaked to him by HR, the firm permitting all types of abuse against Meghan & Archie compared to Clarence House closing comments when ‘ Diana forever’ was posted, silence on nasty press towards Meghan compared to Kate forcing Tatler to edit its feature, all the interviews and profiles after Oprah & even using ministers to pressure Netflix about the crown.
What we don’t know is extent of Elizabeth’s complicity in these decisions & probably won’t know until years after she passes & we start to get the realistic view of her reign from hopefully decent historians & not just propagandists. I personally think she should be held accountable for things re H&M as the firm’s CEO but we just don’t know.
@BABSORIG, thank you for bringing some sense to the conversation. It is badly needed.
Their relationship with the queen looks very good.. Harry implied that the queen isn’t the one who makes all the decisions. CBS mentioned in their analysis following Oprah that there seems to be a ((deep state)) within the monarchy that regulates everything I am starting to wonder if even the queen the one who grants titles?? also Paul Burrell said that Buckingham Palace is a minefield.. we don’t know what does on behind the scenes
@Alissa Are you implying that Harry was lying ? He confirmed many things we theorized here way before: jealousy,smear campaign
If you think about both Diana and then 25ish years later Harry and Diana, the common denominator in all of it is in fact Charles.
The queen always expected Charles to train and take care of his wife and sons. He couldn’t even be bothered to do that. He left it to poorly hired and poorly trained servants who were nothing more than his sycophants.
Every time i see Lili Diana my brain automatically switches it to little Diana. I don’t know why.
And i’ve my personal opinion on the queen too but harry and meghan did mention they are on good terms with her. And they also kind of made it clear in that oprah interview that the queen wasn’t really running the show.
Doesn’t excuse her from anything tho but if we learned anything with this baby announcement its that the Sussexes are on good terms with everyone except william and charles.
Well her Twitter nickname is Lil ‘bet’ or Lil ‘bit’. I love Lil Diana too. Lili is a gorgeous name though.
That is exactly what I posted on the birth announcement yesterday. The first few times I read her name, Lili Diana, I was bombarded with vision illusions, making the name Lil’ Diana.
Either way, it is cute and growing on me more and more.
I agree. The naming plus all of the interviews make me feel like william is the main bad guy. If they have a good relationship with E2, Kate is “a good person” and they’re “working on their relationship” with Charles, that only leaves one out.
H&M have hinted in the Oprah interview that she’s not really running the show so they don’t really blame her for anything. They probably separate Queen Elizabeth II and Granny Lilibet as two different people. They may be disappointed in her as a monarch and head but they still love her as a grandma. We can obviously argue all day about how they’re the same people (which I don’t disagree with) but for the Sussexes they are 2 different people. And as a fan I can understand that even if I don’t agree with it.
H&M issues seem to be with the rota, the courtiers, Charles and William.
How can anyone think she is not running the show ? how was prince Andrew able to get protection ?
@Angel: As someone said below, it’s possible Andrew is being protected by the courtiers to protect the whole establishment because if a Prince starts talking to the FBI, it’s not going to bode well for others who may have been involved with Epstein
@: Sofia. Exactly, im not crazy about that woman getting a tribute either but obviously harry &meghan don’t blame her. Makes me think that Charles has been running the “firm” for a few years now and thats why they are so disappointed with him.
Andrew is being protected by the Queen, for sure, but I think that’s in large part because she isn’t told the full story about him. I think what she has heard is “these young women keep throwing themselves at Andrew and then accusing him of rape when he never touched them! or if he did it was fully consensual!” She’s not hearing about the trafficking as it involves Andrew, or discussions about what consent actually means, etc.
And I think Andrew is being protected by the Firm in general, including Charles. Charles knew enough to know that he had to stop being a working royal, but it’s not like Andrew is going to talk to the FBI when Charles is king. He’ll still be protected.
For me the most surprising part of their name is that it just solidifies how little control the Queen has anymore. Harry said something close in The Interview, but I think this just confirms that they do not blame his grandmother, which must only be because she is not running the show at all.
@Cecilia: I don’t blame fans for being upset about HM getting a name tribute. I understand where they’re coming from but I also understand that for H&M, they’ve probably separated the two Elizabeths (even if she doesn’t deserve that or that they’re one and the same). It’s probably why they went for a family nickname over her legal name.
But there were some over the top reactions. Someone even said they’re doubting Meghan’s experiences of how bad it was (and that was a regular poster!). Some said they’re doubling down on royal connections (whether people like it or not, Harry will always be connected to the royals even if changes his name to John Doe). There’s getting upset at a name and then there’s those reactions.
The fact that Charles, with an assist from Andrew, was able to get rid of Christopher Geidt tells us everything. Think about it. The “all-powerful” Queen’s beloved private secretary was forced out by her heir. That is basically a coup.
Cecilia,
This makes me think it was Charles that made that comment. I remember at the end of the interview in March when Harry said they told him that Meghan can go work as an actress to pay for security. Only Charles or WIlliam would have said that. This is an archaic organization that has been in place for maybe a hundred years or more. There are processes in place that thsee Conniving Courtiers are their sole responsibility.
In fact someone that used to work there accused Andrew of calling them the n word from the woodpile.
Exactly. They named her after Harry’s granny not the Queen. Harry and Meghan can separate the two.
Agreed @BABSORIG. Very well put!
We’re also forgetting that this is literally a 95-year-old woman. There’s no way she’s still “all there,” or that she’s truly capable of running that institution without the significant help of others. I had great-grandparents who lived until their 90s; at that point, they were barely able to take care of themselves. People of that age are easily taken advantage of, manipulated, and influenced.
@Legalese – obviously experiences may differ, but I have several relatives in their 90’s who are still doing fine living on their own, taking care of themselves, and who follow the news and are still quite sharp. You’re not the only commenter who has assumed TQ is no longer “all there” because of her age. So far, we have no reason to believe that’s true, plus, it’s an easy excuse for her not being in control of what’s been going on.
In her circumstances, though, one can see how she might be manipulated or influenced, and it’s not solely because of her age. What is true is, at 95, most if not all of her close, trusted confidants are gone. In her position as monarch, she’s relatively isolated, and relies on others for news, which can easily be edited or distorted, and for advice. Harry said in the interview she’s been getting bad advice. And, Philip was retired for several years before he died. Though handling family issues was apparently his bailiwick, it makes sense to assume his impact on TQ was more than that, that she relied on his input and advice, and that ebbed once he withdrew from public life. Meanwhile, Charles had been waiting in the wings, eager to get his reign going, in actuality if not in fact. So, not hard to see why TQ very possibly hasn’t been the one really in control in the last few years.
Given what we’ve seen of Angela Kelly, I could easily see the Queen being manipulated by someone like that. She’s lost most of her close friends in the last five years; AK47 would see a vaccum and fill it. With the increase in jewelry loans to Kate and Sophie in recent years, plus the Meghan’s wedding tiara being denied for hairstyle practice, it is clear that you have to suck up to Kelly and that she has power.
@nota, agreed. In fact, I originally had another line in my burner phone comment above – “one which Angela Kelly can’t find”. I assume she also had a part in the attempt before the Oprah interview to trash Meghan for having worn earrings gifted from the Saudis. We commented yesterday about delicious receipts – another one was when the earrings story vanished abruptly because Twitter blew up with pictures of other senior royals wearing even more elaborate jewels of equally questionable/objectionable provenance.
I agree the Queen is no longer running the show. The courtiers are protecting the establishment and their jobs. The Queen just lets them get on with it because she puts the survival of the monarchy above everything but she is definitely not calling the shots.
I think it needs reminding that though the Queen is the ‘CEO’, she’s in her 90’s and I very much doubt for the past several years has been anything but a figure head because I think the many within the firm know she is beloved and without her the monarchy would be facing some serious issues. I think tonnes of power struggles going on in the firm. Just like some companies- sometimes people will get underhanded and dirty, push an aging senior exec out to get to the top and have all the control (Charles and Will- stacking the offices with their own yes men)
Additionally H&M both seem like they place no hard feelings or blame on TQ which speaks volumes to me- it is basically them saying she isn’t to blame for this and instead his father, brother, and advisors/staff.
The courtiers were blindsided? Why exactly should the courtiers know in the first place? If you leave your place of employment would you give former staff the heads up on your baby announcement?
I like how the Sussexes plugged all the leaks so that Fredo Joffrey couldn’t go running to his mouthpieces. No leaks equals no clicks and that invalidates the invisible contract. That’s why the courtiers are mad.
The fact that the courtiers are bold enough to complain to the DM about feeling “blindsided”. TF?????
@Cecelia, I’m guessing the DM contacted the palace and asked why they hadn’t responded to the news sooner. So there was really no other way to respond.
I do not understand why the courtiers would be expecting a heads up. Who the hell are you to think you deserve to know beforehand when the baby comes or any news about H&M for that matter? It’s absurd. Especially as the only reason they want to know is to leak to the tabloids. After all of the bullshit those courtiers have done they really want to complain about being blindsided? Unbelievable.
They would “run and tell that” to get in front of the story. They were outmanoeuvred and outfoxed. The Sussexes called checkmate “beoutch”.
Plus, they knew she was pregnant with a girl. Have a draft announcement ready to go and just fill in the name! It’s really not that difficult!!!
Wouldn’t surprise me at this point if the delay was because of them arguing over even acknowledging the birth publicly. Also, people are RAGING on Twitter about “HOW DARE THEY SLAG OFF THE QUEEN AND THEN NAME THEIR DAUGHTER AFTER HER?????” Ugh. I’m so tired of the mental gymnastics these people are using….
The people can rage all they want. She’s his grandmother. And if they want to apply mental gymnastics, Charles slagged off his own parents in a book and on TV. Harry did not say anything not already out there.
They did not care much for Archie’s birth, and they sure as hell made sure to keep harassing Meghan during this pregnancy as well even after a miscarriage. It’s only fair they find out with along with the rest of us. Also, I definitely think that they did tell Betty, only that she was smart enough to keep it to herself like she did when they told her privately that they got engaged.
I think the queen knows she is surrounded by vipers and has got used to letting each person know what she thinks they should. If they told her about the birth, I’m glad she kept it to herself.
It’s pretty obvious by now that Harry talks to his grandmother (and Philip before he died) and she doesn’t tell any of the rest of the family or courtiers. Someone said she must have a burner phone and hides it and the imagery cracked me up.
But seriously, it’s pretty sad it has to be this way just because if any of the rest of them know anything about the Sussexes it promptly ends up in the papers.
That tells me that the queen absolutely knows where the problem is and obviously it isn’t with harry.
I also think that harry may have had a good word with her. And told her that all correspondence between them should remain just that. Between them.
+1 @ Cecilia, and I think it was when he had lunch with the queen for that “summit”. I think Harry came with the receipts and the queen believed him. And for anybody who has deep rooted issues with toxic families, that is a game changer, and I think it gave Harry the courage and power and confidence to find his life outside those prison walls.
I wonder if QE is really just doing the engagements now, and Charles is doing all the heavy lifting.
We know the Queen is loyal to the firm, to a fault, and Charles has no qualms about destroying everyone else to save himself. Even if the firm is stupid enough to think that a situation where someone with charisma, and, well, Tea, would never happen again, I find it hard to believe Harry wasn’t like, uhhh, Granny, you know this is bad, right? This will make the Firm look horrible. I think, even if she wasn’t sympathetic, she would have been like, yeah, let’s work together to save the firm.
I don’t think the Men in Grey would have kept not scheduling appointments with the Queen if they knew she was going to be like, “Half in half out, bitch please.” She let all of her kids get away with that, slimming the monarchy was Charles’ plan.
Why notify people, who do not care about your children, that your daughter was born? It’s sad and speaks volume that Harry felt he could not trust getting his family home safely if he notified his family. So glad they were able to get home and settle before the stalking could happen.
From what we’ve seen and heard I totally buy that she knew but the courtiers didn’t.
Kinda shocked the Queen knew about Lili’s name and it wasn’t leaked? With the horrible press the RF as gotten the past week I’m surprised it wasn’t thrown out there like that weird Philipa push.
Like I said yesterday I love lili, hopefully the girl won’t have to hear lilibet too often. Lili Diana or Lili D is great.
it was leaked but nobody picked up on it. The Express UK had an article by a Royal Rota saying that they have chosen Lily after the Queen”s name Lillibet. I read it on DresslikeaDuchess on Friday
If it was leaked than why all of the talk about being blindsided? Wouldn’t it be better to make it seem as if you knew all along?
There was an article here about it about 3 weeks ago – how the name “Lily” after Lilibet moved up in terms of the betting fairly suddenly over a weekend. I said yesterday it kind of reminds me, looking back, of George introducing himself as Archie before Archie was born.
But the story was specifically that the name would be Lily, “after” Lilibet but not the full Lilibet – so its possible that the “leak” was just a lucky guess, that they intended Lily but chose to go with Lilibet at the last minute – we’ll never really know.
I think even LiliDi would put a nice twist to it too.
I was hoping for Nadia which also spells Diana.
Yes, I heard the rumour several weeks ago that the name could be Lily.
Didn’t Meghan say that she picked up the phone and called the queen once they found out Philip was sick? Or did I just imagine that? Didn’t Harry say they have Zoom calls with her and Philip (when he was alive)? So they’ve got some sort of communication with the queen. I think Harry probably discussed using Lilibet as a name and possibly also due dates. There was a story that said H&M could name their daughter Lily or Lilibet so it’s possible courtiers did find out and leaked it.
Or they didn’t and people assumed Harry would put a tribute in for his grandma.
it was leaked, I read it too
You heard it right. She also added that it was easy to pick up the phone, call and check. Something to that effect. Meaning she did not have to go through those Conniving Vipers or the hierarchy.
Harry did say that. I remember the bit about Philip misunderstand how Zoom worked. He’d say Bye, close the laptop screen, and think he’d hung up.
Yep. In the Corden interview. And that the Queen had sent them a waffle maker.
So random…of all the celebrities who no doubt congratulated H&M, it’s Captain Kirk they get in a tizzy over?!?!
IKR? Shows the depth of their crazy😂
Shatner is Jewish. That’s the only explanation I have for including him in their racist righteous rage.
What–?? Can someone explain this. Is this happening on twitter or insta?
I took it to mean that EVEN Capt. Kirk knew before the royal family lol
At this point, there should be no surprise that H&M aren’t contacting the official Firm about anything.
They seems to really be comfortable with the distinction queen/grandmother and Firm/family. As an outsider it’s kinda hard to get.
Now I’m convinced the Queen is not really in charge. Even with Andrew, I think it’s a collective decision by the establishment to protect him because if he get caught I suspect others will follow.
I imagine having been raised in that institution, Harry has been able to compartmentalize “The Queen” from “Grandma Lilibet”. I guess in his mind, as well as Meghan’s, she is two distinct people: one is the head of the Firm and the other head of the Family.
I’m interpreting this as – the Queen knew, but the courtiers didn’t know. I don’ t believe that Harry would inform his grandmother of the birth of his daughter via a press release, even if she knew about the name. So my guess is he had contacted the Queen and told her, and for some reason she did not tell the courtiers. Or maybe no one at BP expected H&M to announce it themselves on Sunday?
Also I love the flex in the timing of the announcement. Embargoed until 5pm UK time. He wasn’t giving the sunday am talk shows any news.
Also, I’m laughing at how the palaces had to “scramble” to put out a statement when they put out the most basic statement ever. It took them all over an hour to get those statements out? they need new PR people. They should have a statement written and ready to go, with only the name to be added (if KP and CH didnt know.)
Becks, I bet they did have the statement written. But it took them 59 min to get TOB calmed down before they could issue it. LOL
It really says something about people who are so angry over the joyful occasion of a new baby. Wow.
@Merri 30,000 negative comments on the Heil. THIRTY THOUSAND. It’s insanity, and deeply saddening. But I hope that H&M know how loved they are by their supporters, and that their news in delightful.
Re: the name… we have no idea what went on behind the scenes. We see only a carefully curated version of events, their lives, their personhood. I think we’re sometimes too quick to speculate/jump to the defence of, and our suppositions may be the polar opposite of reality. What’s clear is that they love and get on well enough with the Queen to name their daughter after not the public person, but the vulnerable human woman.
I wonder how many of those comments are bots. I can see the DM using them to create the illusion of huge readership and support for their views which presents an image of power.
Harry has developed a bond of love with his grandmother from the time he was a child. Child Harry had no concept of what the queen stood for. As an adult, he may be conflicted about this, but he still loves her and feels love from her. To me, naming his daughter after her, is evidence that she hasn’t had any part in the way the Sussexes have been treated, and no longer has access to such knowledge or if she does, she no longer has the power to take action. This is further evident by his willingness to cut off his brother who he also loved growing up and his father I guess, to a lesser extent. Relationships are complicated and I wonder how many of those who feel he should cut her off would do so under the same circumstances in their own relationships.
Talking about stringent ideals is so much easier and simpler then living them.
The previous study was, 80 percent of the negative comments about Meghan came from fewer than 12 people who used multiple accounts.
I have posted this before but it bears repeating – if you wade through the comments on the Daily Mail, you’ll notice that many of them are duplicated page to page. So the original comments are actually a lower count than it would seem from the total count.
Good lord…they didn’t have the messages pre-written? That’s comm 101!!! Amateur hour. Jes*s!
Seriously. Boilerplate language, and even if they didn’t have it, my college intern could have cranked out a statement like that in about half the time, proofed and ready to go.
If H&M had told anyone at the palaces about Lili’s birth it would have been leaked immediately to the tabloids and Rota Rats. So glad H&M controlled the narrative and announced her birth on their own terms. And sadly, Lili Diana will be the most stalked baby on the planet. I’m sure the BM have sent a squad of paparazzi to Montecito to try and get that first picture. Hoepfully, the Sussexes are safely ensconced on their estate with a wall of security guarding them.
They managed to keep her birth locked down until they chose to announce it. I have no doubt they will vigorously protect her privacy.
They clearly did but I know this has nothing to do with this but I’m hollering at the fact that Piers Morgan has been completely made irrelevant and that 60 minutes interview didn’t go anywhere. I mean, only a few headlines and everyone is talking about the baby news. I know he is so pissed right now.
Piers was on 60 minutes? Who knew?😂🤣
The Australian 60 minutes programme
60 minutes Australia. Irrelevant as hell. The Australian media seem to have it in for them too, which is hilarious because no one really cares about the opinions of those commentators.
oh and he is chumping at the bits. Again he lost out to the Sussexes. The man’s ego is in tatters right now.
I was wondering why the delay statements. I thought the households were being vindictive but they gave them. Eugenie posted congrats too. Bojo gave congratulations and so did the leader of the Labour party. A representative from the US embassy in London sent best wishes.
Bad Dad sent his congrats through the Sun. I bet he didn’t get a text from Doria this time. Serves him right he finds out about Lili’s birth the same time the rest of the world does.
Honestly I think we’re all reading way too much into what just looks like a sh*tty comms team to me.
I do PR for a living and even if they didn’t know the exact due date it’s almost malpractice that the courtiers didn’t already have the statement primed and ready to go- even with the whole “Harry said the Queen was a bad mother” angle. That came out over a week ago, which is plenty of time to decide how you’re going to handle the birth announcement and get buy-in from KP and CH.
As for whether or not the Queen knew in advance; I suspect like many couples, once they announced they were having a girl they talked to the Queen and said they liked the name and were *thinking* about using it, and she said fine. I doubt it was “signed off” in any kind of formal way which is why the courtiers got caught with their pants down.
All of a sudden they are concerned about Doria, when a few months ago they were bitching about Doria’s picture next to Diana’s on Archewell’s website.
Doria is going to be spending a lot of time with her grandchildren, while the Queen is not and Diana can’t, so big deal about the names.
Apparently Doria’s aunt was Lillie, she was the first in the family to graduate from college and had a successful real estate business in California, she encouraged her Doria’s father to move to California.
Doria called Meghan, flower, and now there is Lili.
Tom is out here congratulating Meghan but not Harry, I didn’t realize he was blaming Harry for not taking care of Megan during her difficulties, which he contributed to.
This is the same man that was at Oprah’s door to give his side of story, like Oprah was going to greased his hands, Oprah had her issues with her family selling her out.
They’re only concerned because “hOw dARe tHeY naMe a 1/4 bLAck cHiLd aFteR tHe quEeN”. Name her after her black grandma. {end sarcasm}
Doria has two great-aunts, sisters called Dora and Lillie. Dora was a teacher and Lillie worked as an estate agent. Lillie studied for a degree as an adult. I expect Doria was involved in discussions about names.
Also it literally take 5 min to hit send on an international press release- it works just like scheduling a tweet – you load a draft ahead of time and then can make tweaks right before it goes out. Not hard.
They have whole online services now, it takes about sixty seconds. This comms team is so incompetent it defies description. “Incompetent” is just too nice.
They are better people than me because I wouldn’t have even named my child after a person who didn’t lift a finger to stop the palace attacks. That said, they were right to inform the palace at the same as everyone because the palace leaks like a sieve. One of the most untrustworthy institutions out there.
Harry says that he talks to his grandmother more now than when he was in the UK. Knowing that the courtiers are always present when she is on a call, I suspect she kicks them out of the room when she speaks to Harry. Therefore the courtiers cannot leak any information to the press and it’s clear that the Queen doesn’t brief them on her conversations with Harry. Harry also knows he cannot tell the Palace anything because it would be leaked to the press. As for the Palace, they knew this was coming so how come they didn’t at least have a statement in draft that could have been released as soon as the announcement was made.
Whatever anyone of thinks of any of the parties involved both Harry and Meghan have made it very clear that they are still in contact with the Queen, have a direct line to her, and seem to hold no animosity towards for her for everything that happened. Harry himself said in the Oprah interview that he’s talked more to his grandmother in the last year than he ever has before. Meghan told a story about thr Queen being kind to her and when Oprah visited them days later when Phil was in the hospital they literally said they spoke to his grandmother that morning. Harry also went out of his way to tell Oprah that it wasnt his grandparents who made the comments aboit Archie’s skin color.
Whatever issues Harry and Meghan have with members of the family they’ve made it very clear that it is not with his grandparents(or the York girls). The only way them separating the Queen from the Firm in the way they try to makes sense is if it is true that we really are living in Charles’ regency and the Queen has pretty much no power which considering the fact that she’s 95 is possible. I also feel like people give their grandparents more of a break because they’re so old and close to death you know there’s no way they’re going to actually change at this point when theyre from a different era so as long as they’re not outright asses to your family you might let it slide.
+1
@Chelsea: I agree with you. It’s clear that the Queen is no longer in charge.
Was the Queen ever really in charge? I’m coming to see her more and more of a figurehead being run by courtiers and the powers that be from the early days of her “reign”. Also she’s known to be naive, simple minded, and not intellectually curious or educated. Clearly old age has exacerbated all this. She clearly cares deeply about her role and thinks she was divinely appointed but that’s a different matter.
Also this in no way absolves her, I guess you can go with the CEO analogy and she ultimately represents the institution but imagine an isolated and remote CEO in a larger organization who you like on a personal level but your direct bosses in your department is the one making your life hell and even the board of directors who ultimately manage the company.
@MA i think the solution to the scenario you mentioned, being stuck with an incompetent CEO that you personally love as they are your family but who doesnt do enough to protect you, is leave the job. That’s what Harry did. He loves his grandmother but couldnt let his loyalty to her allow him to be neglectful in his most important role: protecting his wife and kids. At least the Queen has sort of respected that. Charles on the other hand took it as an affront, stopped taking his calls, and stuck his dogs on him.
I am starting to be more partial to the theory that the Queen was fine with the half in half out plan but Charles and William scuttled it and then tried to keep Harry from her as Harry himself said in the Oprah interview that the Queen had wanted them to visit with her in person after they got back from Canada only for courtiers to at the last minute say her schedule was full. It was an interesting moment because Oprah was taken aback at the idea that the Queen cant do whatever she wants. Wish it would have been included in the interview special instead of released the day after via CBS.
Yup. I agree with everyone saying Liz knew. If they named the baby after her, 100% Harry called her — and only her — to let her know the baby had been born. Maybe Eugenie too, as she made a sweet tribute to her “dear cousins” on IG (and before anyone says it was just in her stories — I completely think that was to keep nasty comments at bay than if she made it an actual post). And for the 8000th time….we as fans can get all in our feelings as much as we want, but the fact remains that only Harry and Meghan truly know what has been happening behind the scenes and how much power and control Liz actually holds, which I continue to feel is not very much at all at this point. Shadow King Charles, on the other hand…..
Of course they found out with everyone else. Can’t trust those people to not tell the British media That you said that the sky is green. I am so proud of Harry and Meghan and the airtight ship that they run. Just proves time and time again that Willy, Karen keen and Chucky and the courtiers are really rotten to the core
I’m actually shocked she was named after Liz. I need to rethink my position on her. She really made me mad. If HM is close to Liz and Phillip and don’t blame them, it really confirms (to me) that Charles and the courtiers are controlling and hiding behind her and Liz is just a puppet signing off things. Ill health? Just tired? Understandable because she shouldn’t be working. But if true, the UK and Commonwealth are paying for a puppet and therefore, a rubbish institution that is making use of an old woman whose mental health and capacity are now suspect.
For Harry and Meghan, she is a beloved grandmother. I do not blame them. Families are complicated. She is 94.
For me… I can see many examples throughout a long life of the queen being racist and a figurehead for a racist colonial empire. Starting with the Nazi salutes in the garden when she was a child. Continuing up to this week when we find out her household is still exempt from laws protecting against racist hiring practices. So it’s not really going to happen for me to feel affection for her or think her nickname is cute. And she’s not my grandmother.
100% agree with you Hannah and agree with your posts and GraceB’s.
Same sentiment Hannah
I’m not blaming them. I’m just perplexed. Anyway I’m quite sure HM don’t hate Liz.
I mean, he asked TQ if it was OK. she knew. It’s just the other freaky ragaholics who are mad. Thecambsstans are freaking out that Charlotte’s name was stolen? These people are literally iinsane
Even though Peter’s daughter Isla had Elizabeth in her middle name before Charlotte and Leah Tindall after. But not a peep. I’m sure Beatrice and/or Eugenie will have it if they have girls. But Harry’s the only grandchild not allowed in the eyes of the press?
They knew this baby was coming…didn’t they have their standard message ready to go? The griping about the timing is just to have something to criticize. So transparent.
Exactly… Meg was 8-9 months pregnant and they were still surprised by birth announcent 😀
I mean, they knew Meghan was pregnant and they knew it was a girl. Normal pr procedure would be to have statements ready and just insert baby name.
Pr professionals should never be in a constant state of blindsidedness.
My 99 yo grandmother keeps our secrets. If a child or grandchild tells her something & to keep it to herself, she will. I can fully believe Harry called to tell the Queen & asked her to keep it to herself until they were ready to announce. And she would.
We know Wikileaks didn’t know because the news would have been shared with the tabs before they could leave the hospital. Charles may or may not have known. He’s shown very little interest in Archie. Can’t see him changing for Lili.
I think this shows that above all else, all families are complicated and no one really understands those relationships except the people within these relationships. Despite the Queen’s shortcomings, for whatever reason Harry has chosen to see the good in her and values the relationship. Perhaps the photos ofMeghan and a smiling queen showed she did in fact support the two and liked Megan a lot, but the heir and spare just couldn’t abide it. The relationship he has with his father and brother are equally complicated, but there is still a lot of bad blood and confusion.
Yeah, so, I think BP, CH, and KP were all told about the birth in advance. At least by Saturday. If they didn’t know then they really pulled their shit together in record time. Like, they managed a coordinated response on a Sunday evening within an hour without prior knowledge? Maybe they suddenly have their shit together, but I’ll believe it when it happens on a consistent basis. If they had actually found out through the Archewell website, then I doubt we would have seen a response until Monday. I don’t see anyone at BP or CH just sitting around on social media. Kate is the only one I can think of who might have found out easily. So, maybe she really is the savior… because she hangs out on social media enough to know when there’s something going on…
…Each palace released a basic ass brief statement of congratulations. A simple template for congratulations should’ve already been prepped for launch at any time starting late May. They already have form for how to coordinate public announcements/well-wishes regarding weddings/births/anniversaries on social media, so I agree with Kaiser that this was an obvious scramble. Taking a whole hour to 90 minutes to post a two sentence, mealy-mouthed congratulations does not indicate that they were told in advance AT ALL.
No way! It would have leaked.
Regarding the name Lilibet, and some friend and foe who are bothered by the name, Professor Kate Williams has a very good thread on Twitter regarding royal names, and Lilibet’s name in particular. It makes me like her name more.
I was on royal Facebook this weekend debating the name. One of the biggest gripes was that Elizabeth was Charlotte’s middle name so why go there. I pointed out that one of Peter Phillips’s girls, Isla, I think, had the name before Charlotte and Leah Tindall after. Why’s it a big deal for Lili to share the name when it’s not even actually the name but her nickname. Second part came about Diana and, again, somehow belonging to Charlotte. Why not use Frances to honor Diana instead. So then I pointed out that Frances came from Diana’s American great grandmother who was trusted so shabbily by her husband’s British family she divorced him and returned to America. Did they want THAT bit of trivia highlighted?
No point using Frances, as Diana hated her mother Frances most of her life. The haters and Kate stans just didn’t want Harry and Meghan to use ‘Diana’, so they’re spinning.
I know her relationship with her mom which is one part. Francis could’ve easily been in either William or Harry’s name if they’d wanted. But the Frances Work (Frances Roche’s grandmother) history is one I don’t think they’d want people drawing connections to.
Wasn’t the name “Lillibet” starting to trend on gambling sites in the last few weeks? And it’s pretty unusual, so I wonder if a courtier leaked it after the Queen was informed?
Maybe that’s why Harry and Meghan decided to wait before sharing that their daughter was born, to avoid being prempted by the palace.
The name honors both the Queen and Philip, who called her that. I like that it’s not just a matter of giving the baby a royal name, but it’s a matter of naming her after Harry’s gran in particular. I’m certain that TQ appreciates it.
Yes especially since it’s royal tradition to inform the Queen first of a royal birth. I feel confident that Doria and the Queen were the first to know. And yes, it is hilarious to imagine HM keeping the secret with Harry, like her James Bond bit with Daniel Craig. Probably fun for her.
People Magazine just posted that they had informed the queen right after they gave birth and she was one of the first people to know. They probably just asked her not to say anything until they announced the birth. It didn’t say if Charles had been advised earlier but I don’t see why not.
How do these people not already have statements prepared where they can plug the name in and hit submit as soon as the news breaks?
For all we know, Harry could have asked the Queen back when Meghan was pregnant with Archie as they didn’t find out the baby’s gender beforehand. And maybe asked her again after Phillip’s death to be certain it was still ok.
The more I think about it, the issue have always been the “grey men” and Cain, the Incandescent. That’s why Harry is so upset with Charles and his actions. He thought his father would step up but he didn’t.
LOL some trolls appalled because the name Lilibet was “sacred” hahaha, OMG really they are craaaazeeee.
Where I live, we have a saying that goes more or less: Lime residues burn even more than the quicklime itself, e. G. Courtiers and some of these followers fancy themselves more royal, strict and aristocratic than the royal family themselves.
The main reason so many people have a problem with the name because how dare they give the sacred royal nickname to a child who had enslaved ancestors and whose other grandmother is African American, and she is in the line of succession to the British throne. Baby Lilibet is here, we haven’t seen a peep of her but her impact is profound.
Radar Magazine and Hello Magazine, and People Magazine, are stating categorically that not only was the Queen in the know that her great grand daughter was born on Friday but she has already met Lili Diana via ZOOM hours after her birth at 11:30AM on Friday 4th, of June.
So much for all the usual misinformation from UK tabloids.
I’m starting to think that the queen was probably willing to let them have the half in half our deal just like she did for her cousin Prince Michael of Kent. Charles and William were against it for whatever reason and Charles was the one who had the Queen’s courtiers turn Harry and Meghan away when they tried to visit her. Gan Gan doesn’t like to make decisions, so probably wanted Charles to have the final say as the next monarch. Harry told us, the queen is badly advised.
I didn’t care for the first name but realized that I was getting annoyed at the name of a child of someone that I don’t know and never will than I am at some of the names my own relatives have come up with for their children.
I’m sure one day we’ll get further insight on why the name was chosen. Meghan is not a pushover and would not name her only daughter after someone who treated her badly.
I’m sure they had to get the Queen’s blessing since it was her nickname they were planning to use. I’m sure they received Doria’s blessing also.
Negative engagement is still engagement. Those 30k, at least the non bots, will watch their Netflix programs, listen to their podcast so they can complain, more money for the Sussexes.
I thought about PM when the announcement was made. He must have lost what is left of his mind, his big take down of Meghan which would have dominate the news on Monday was barely a mention.
Harry and Meghan still love the monarchy or like those unearned privileges and titles : they continue to use those stupid titles on their commercial endeavors when they are now in America…maybe they really do need those titles in America to feel special and get deals done..
Meghan continue to use that silly title when she was drove suicidal ideations and was made to cry before the Oprah interview ( she doesn’t read tabloids so how she knows what they wrote?)…I don’t understand…and they keep that attachment by giving their daughter his beloved grandmother name who is the head of an imperialist and racist institution and in the same breath denounce systemic racism…Make it make sense…Meghan didn’t hesitate to say that she lost her dad who humiliated her but she is ready to forgive the monarchy who drove her to suicide and she still wants to be associated with them….They don’t care about racism in general but just when it was directed to Meghan….Good luck to them with all their contorsions and those pseudo reporters have every right to write those fanfics,the Sussexes wants to be attached to that institution
Don’t forget ‘THE BENCH’ is out today, sure to help you understand all that you don’t.
Not interested anymore…Godspeed
No actually they do not have the “right” to print or say whatever they want.. there are libel, harassment and privacy laws.. most rights are with the understanding that your rights are only valid if you are not harming or infringing on another’s rights.
It is their rightful name and at adulthood their children will decide what they want if anything but you do not have any right to decide.