The Queen is ‘desperate’ to see her great-granddaughter Lilibet in person, a royal expert has claimed. Royal author Brian Hoey, who has written extensively about the royal family, told The Express that the monarch, 95, is very keen to meet the nine-months-old daughter of Prince Harry, 37, and Meghan Markle, 40, who lives in California, in the flesh.
So far, it is believed the Queen, who celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this year, has only met her 11th granddaughter, who is yet to travel to the UK, via video link. The remarks come as Prince Harry brings a legal challenge against the Home Office after being told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protective security when visiting from the US, despite offering to pay for it himself.
The royal, who is living in Montecito, California, with Meghan and their son Archie, two, and Lilibet, wants to bring his children to visit from across the Atlantic, but ‘does not feel safe’ when visiting under the current security arrangements, the High Court was previously told.
Mr Hoey said: ‘I have heard from people I know within the Royal Household, she really would desperately like to see the baby in this way. ‘I think she would love to, I wonder whether it is going to happen, I would love to think it could,’ he added. The expert said he believes that a meeting between the Queen and the newest member of the Sussex family would heal the reported rift between Harry and the other senior royals.
He added that Her Majesty would welcome Prince Harry and Meghan back if they were to visit the UK with their children. Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born on Friday, June 4 at 11.40am at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California, was named after the Queen’s childhood nickname.
‘I am absolutely sure the Queen holds no feelings of disapproval towards Harry and Meghan, none whatsoever, she would certainly welcome them back if they came,’ Mr Hoey said. It was reported at the time of Lilbet’s birth that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had ‘excitedly’ introduced her to her great-grandmother via a video link.
A source told People magazine: ‘They were very excited and couldn’t wait to share that their daughter arrived.’ The Queen’s family nickname Lilibet was first used when she was unable to pronounce her own name properly as a toddler and her grandfather King George V would call her ‘Lilibet’ to imitate her attempts.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex explained in the announcement of their daughter’s birth that they had chosen the name as a tribute to the Queen, meanwhile the middle name Diana was given in honour of Harry’s late mother. At the time, royal commentators were hopefully Harry and Meghan would soon come to the UK to introduce her to the royal family.
However, nine months on, the couple are thought to have yet to cross the pond as a family, and a recent legal challenge over their security detail in the UK has cast a doubt over whether Harry and Meghan would visit the Queen for her Platinum Jubilee. Harry has visited the UK twice on solo trips since moving to North America, once for the funeral of his grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh on April 17 and on July 1 to unveil a statue of his mother Princess Diana at Kensington Palace with Prince William, 39.
Tom Bower, who is currently penning a biography of Meghan Markle, told Closer the Duke of Sussex faces the ‘ultimate dilemma’ this year, as he must decide whether to make the trip to visit his beloved grandmother knowing that he’s being paid to bare his soul for his much-anticipated memoir.
