Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Welcome Baby Girl Named Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have announced the birth of their second child, a baby girl named Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.

The couple welcomed their daughter on Friday, with the newborn weighing in at 7 pounds and 11 ounces.

The name pays tribute to two senior royals, the Queen and the late Princess of Wales.

However, royal expert Ingrid Seward has questioned the name choice, suggesting that the Queen may be confused by it after Meghan and Harry's recent criticism of the royal family.

Ingrid Seward noted that while it was charming that the couple had chosen to name their daughter Lilibet as a compliment to the Queen, it was strange that they had opted for such an intimate royal nickname while professing to want to remove themselves from royal life.

Ms Seward also questioned whether the Queen would approve of the use of her family pet name, as she has not been in favour of informal nicknames before.

She highlighted that the Queen has a healthy disregard for nicknames and that when Prince Andrew's affair with Coo Stark was all over the press, the only thing she said was, “why can't they all be Catherine?”

Ingrid Seward also noted that while it was inevitable that Harry would want to honour his late mother in their name choice, she wondered why the pair made no mention of Meghan's family in the choice of name.

She questioned where Meghan's parentage was in all of this.

The name Lilibet was actually coined by the Queen herself when she was a youngster and struggling to pronounce her actual name.

The pet name stuck throughout much of her life, with her father, the late King George VI, fondly calling his eldest daughter by the nickname.

Prince Philip also picked up on the nickname and frequently referred to his wife as Lilibet, rather than Elizabeth.

Meghan and Harry's PR team announced the birth of their daughter at 5pm on Sunday.

The statement revealed that the child was born at 11.40am on Friday in the trusted care of doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California.

Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home.

The statement also gave a brief explanation behind the choice of names, with Lily named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet.

Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honour her beloved late grandmother, the Princess of Wales.

Meghan and Harry included a personal message of thanks in the statement, expressing their gratitude for the love and prayers they have felt from across the globe.

Members of the Royal Family have congratulated the couple on their new arrival, including the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

This is the second child for Meghan and Harry, following the birth of their son Archie in May 2019.

The couple has been living in California since stepping down from their roles as senior members of the royal family in 2020.