Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have christened their 21-month-old daughter, Lilibet Diana, at their home in Montecito, California, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed on Wednesday.
“I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev. John Taylor,” the spokesperson wrote in a Wednesday statement to The Times.
According People, who was the first to report the christening, members of the royal family, including Harry’s father, King Charles III; stepmother, Queen Camilla; brother, Prince William; and his sister-in-law, Catherine, were invited to the small, intimate ceremony, but did not attend.
After months of confusion over their children’s royal titles, the Sussexes’ announcement marks the first time their second daughter has publicly used the title princess. Lilibet, who was born in June 2021, was not technically a princess at birth because she was not a granddaughter of the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, at the time. However, when her son Charles hers acceded to the throne after the queen’s death in September, Lilibet gained the right to the title, the BBC informed. The accession of King Charles III also placed Harry fifth in the line of succession, following his older brother, Prince William, and William’s three young children.
According news weekBuckingham Palace also confirmed that Harry and Meghan have the right to describe Lilibet as a princess and their 3-year-old son Archie as a prince since his grandfather became King Charles III. However, the royal family website listing line of succession it has not yet been updated to reflect the new titles, instead listing the children by their full names: Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
As Harry and Meghan fans applauded “casual” use of microphone drop of the princess title, criticism was just as swift given the couple’s 2020 decision to step back as royals and their subsequent revelations about the royal family in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Netflix docuseries and Harry’s merciless memoir “Spare”.
Dan Wootton, a GB News presenter and high-profile critic of the Sussexes, tweeted that it was “disconcerting” that the couple referred to their daughter as a princess in the ad.
“They hate everything about the institution of the monarchy and are trying to bring it down, but they still want to instill it in their own Californian daughter,” Wootton wrote.
The spokesman did not comment on criticism of the Sussexes’ use of the title when contacted by The Times on Wednesday.
During her March 2021 interview with Winfrey, the former “Suits” star, who was pregnant with Lilibet at the time, revealed that they had disturbing conversations with the royal family about titles and the extent of security for the couple and their biracial son. as well as concerns about her skin color.
Relations have continued to appear contentious ever since, further exacerbated by the outspokenness of the Sussexes and reactions from the palace.
Just last week, Harry and Meghan were “required to leave their residence at Frogmore Cottage” in Britain, suggesting further fraying of ties to the royal family amid preparations for their father’s coronation on May 6, the Associated Press reported.
The cottage sits on the grounds of Windsor Castle in west London and was the couple’s primary residence before they relinquished royal duties and moved to southern California. The Sun tabloid reported that Charles started eviction proceedings on January 11, a day after Harry’s ruthless memoir was published.
