Queen Elizabeth has officially met her granddaughter in person for the first time. After the June 2 Trooping the Colour, the 96-year-old royal met Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 11-month-old daughter, Lilibet Diana, a source told ET.
The three-year-old son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archie, was also present at the meeting. The source also noted that the Queen would see the baby again on Saturday when she celebrates her first birthday.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Lilibet was born in June 2021 in California. After her birth was announced last year, the couple explained the significance of Lilibet’s name through their Archewell organization. “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,” the organization wrote.
According to TMZ, the royal family attended a private lunch with other royals. There are reports that William and Kate will not participate in Lilibet’s first birthday celebration on Saturday, the outlet reported.
Lilibet and the Queen meet as Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, visit England as part of the royal family’s Platinum Jubilee celebration in honor of the monarch’s 70 years on the throne. As reported by TMZ, Metropolitan Police’s Royalty and Specialist Protection unit has been working with Harry’s crew to arrange taxpayer-funded security for the Platinum Jubilee. The family will be protected by the police while attending royal events or staying at Frogmore Cottage.
In February, Harry’s legal team appeared in court to request that his family’s protection be reinstated. After removing themselves from the royal family, they lost access to government protection in the U.K. and had to pay for their security while in America.
Harry was reportedly worried about his children being safe in his home country. His lawyer told TMZ, “It should go without saying that he wants to come back: to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart.”
Queen Elizabeth and the couple had an intimate meeting during their recent visit to the United Kingdom ahead of the Invictus Games. “It was great, it was really nice to see her. To see her in an element of privacy was nice,” Harry told Today.
He noted that despite his family’s absence from England, he still monitors the Queen’s affairs.”I’m just making sure that she’s, you know, protected and got the right people around her,” he explained. The Queen tested positive for COVID-19 in February. “You know, home — home for me, now, is you know, for the time being, is in the States.”
