Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Sarah Biren
Sarah Biren
December 2, 2023 ·  3 min read

The birth certificate for Lilibet Diana contains an incredible detail.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s eldest son, Archie Harrison, was born in 2019 when they were still members of the Royal Family. But Lilibet “Lili” Diana was born in June 2021, after they had already relinquished their royal duties and moved to California. Although Prince Harry and Meghan kept their royal titles, they don’t use them regularly. But when it came to Lilibet Diana’s birth certificate, each parent signed their name very differently.

Lilibet Diana’s Birth Certificate and Namesakes

Lili’s birth certificate shows that she was born on June 4 at 11:40 in the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Prince Harry had filled out his name as “The Duke of Sussex” and his last name as “His Royal Highness”. Meanwhile, Meghan skipped her royal title, simply writing “Rachel Meghan Markle”. 

For comparison, they signed Archie’s birth certificate as “His Royal Highness Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex” and “Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.” On this certificate, they wrote their occupations as “Prince” and “Princess of the United Kingdom,” even though Meghan never received the princess title. On birth certificates in California, the parents’ occupations are not added.

Lilibet Diana is named after her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose nickname was Lilibet. Her middle name honors her grandmother, Prince Harry’s mother. When Prince Charles became king in September 2022, Lilibet and Archie legally became princess and prince of the UK. But in the tell-all interview with Oprah, Meghan stated that her children will decide if they want to take on the royal title when they are older. She explained, “Even though I have a lot of clarity of what comes with the titles good and bad… That is their birthright to then make a choice about.” [1]

When Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties, they kept their titles of “His and Her Highness” but won’t use them as per their agreement with Queen Elizabeth. A statement released by Buckingham Palace at the time read: “The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.” Soon after, Prince Harry’s HRH title was taken off the Princess Diana’s Exhibition at Kensington Palace. When it opened, the place-card by the exhibit said, “Lent by HRH The Duke of Cambridge and HRH The Duke of Sussex”. But now it says, “Lent by HRH The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.” [2]

Read: Prince Charles Is Reportedly Fed Up With His Son Prince Harry

Lili and Her Family

In June 2022, Lilibet Diana met her great-grandmother for the first time during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration. Her parents had visited the UK in April ahead of the Invictus Games and spent time with Queen Elizabeth. “Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her,” Harry shared during an interview with Today at the time. “She’s in great form. She’s always got a great sense of humor with me… It was really nice to catch up with her.[3]

Lili also appeared in Meghan and Harry’s Netflix docuseries. She is seen sitting with Harry as he reads her a story next to some of the family’s dogs. “What’s most important for the two of us is to make sure that we don’t repeat the same mistakes that perhaps our parents made,” Harry said over narration. [4]

Meghan spoke about how her childhood made her want her own larger family. “When I look back at my own childhood, it was great, but I just remember feeling alone a lot,” she said. “I just wanted all of these cousins, and these people, I just wanted all of that – and I didn’t have that big family. So when I was pregnant with Archie, I was just so excited that we were going to be able to create for him that thing that I had always wanted.” [5] 

Keep Reading: Meghan Markle Opens Up About Struggle of ‘Not Being Able to Afford’ Her $14M Mansion

Sources

  1. “Lilibet Diana’s Birth Certificate Does Include One Royal Title— For Harry.” Vanity Fair. Emily Kirkpatrick. July 7, 2021
  2. “Meghan Markle drops Duchess of Sussex title in Lilibet Diana’s birth certificate – but Prince Harry keeps HRH style.” Hello Magazine. Andrea Caamano.June 25, 2021
  3. “Queen Elizabeth Meets Great-Granddaughter Lilibet in Person for the First Time.ET. Tionah Lee. June 3, 2022
  4. “All About Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Children.People. Julie Tremaine. December 8, 2022
  5. Prince Harry Says He Sees ‘A Lot Of His Mum’ In Daughter Lilibet.” Huffington Post. Natasha Hinde. “ December 15, 2022