Archie Harrison has a sister.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have announced that Meghan has given birth to a baby girl.
“It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world. Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m.,” the family said in a statement. “She weighed 7 lb. 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home. Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”
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In a separate statement posted to the couple’s website, the Sussexes added: “On June 4th, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili. She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”
“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,” said Buckingham Palace in a Sunday statement.
Fans of the couple hoping that a photo of Lili would be released are set to be disappointed, however, with sources saying the Sussexes did not plan on releasing a picture any time soon.
The couple first announced they were pregnant on Valentine’s Day this year. Then, during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on March 7, Harry revealed that the couple were expecting a daughter.
The happy news came after heartbreak for the couple when Meghan had a miscarriage in July last year. Meghan wrote about the experience in a New York Times article in which she wrote: “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few. In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage. Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.”
Their new baby will not have any royal titles at birth but according to precedent should be eligible to the title Her Royal Highness when her grandfather, Prince Charles ascends to the throne, when Archie should also be eligible to be His Royal Highness. However the situation may be complicated by the fact that Meghan and Harry have officially retained their HRH styles but do not use them, under an agreement reached with the queen when they stepped back from their roles as working royals and left the U.K. last year.
It is not known when or if the queen will meet her eleventh great grandchild. Harry is due to travel to the U.K. to attend an unveiling of a statue of his late mother, Princess Diana, on July 1st, but The Daily Beast understands that while Harry still plans to attend the ceremony, Meghan is unlikely to join him.
