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.
The Queen (pictured last month) is ‘desperate’ to see her great-granddaughter Lilibet in person, a royal expert has claimed
Lilibet, nine months, is named after her great-grandmother. The couple have been very private about their daughter since her birth in June and have only shared one picture of her on their Christmas card, above
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.
There is ongoing speculation over whether Harry and Meghan will return to the UK for the Queen’s Jubilee (pictured at the 53rd NAACP Award in California on February 26)
‘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.
The Queen, pictured in October, is marking her Platinum Jubilee this year. On March, she and other members of the royal family will attend a thanksgiving ceremony for the Duke of Edinburgh who passed away in April 2021
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.
The Queen has been introduced to Prince Harry and Meghan’s daughter Lilibet via video call when she was born last June, according to a source. Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex introducing their son Archie
Harry’s explosive £14.7million ($20million) memoir is due to be published in the autumn.
His book, to be published by Random House, is likely to tackle the brothers’ frosty relationship with the Duchess of Cornwall, who was confirmed as the future Queen Consort in February.
Bower claims the Duke of Sussex is using worries over his security as ‘an excuse’ and says he knows that it’s likely to be difficult to maintain friendly relations with the royal family following the release of the book.
The author said he does not believe Harry will come back this year, in spite of Prince Philip’s thanksgiving ceremony on April 29 and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in early June.
‘I think Harry won’t come back because he knows he cannot face his family, and be pleasant with them, knowing what he’s written about them in that book,’ Bower said.
‘That book will have a lot of casualties and cause a lot of hurt. It will really deliver, as Harry knows it has to, to justify the money he’s been paid to do it. How can Harry come back and pretend it’s all fine? The worst of what he will say is yet to come,’ he added.
The author added not coming back would be a clear show of where Harry’s loyalties lie, and that the Duke of Sussex could regret not introducing his daughter Lilibet to the monarch before it’s too late.
Lilibet who is the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild, arrived less than a month after Prince Harry criticised the monarch’s parenting. Pictured: Harry and Meghan with Archie
He’s added that the Duke of Sussex has had plenty of opportunities already to come back to the UK, and the fact he and his family have not visited the Queen since settling in the US shows where Harry and Meghan’s mindsets are.
Tom also recently told the Sun that Meghan has no intention to coming back to the UK and ‘simply doesn’t care’ what the British public think.
The commentator said the royal viewed the UK as a ‘lost cause.’
‘Meghan’s ultimate destination is unclear, but she certainly has the backing to make a bid to star as an American politician,’ he said.
‘In parallel, Britain is a lost cause for the Sussexes. In truth, I suspect Meghan no longer cares whether she is welcome in London. She has no intention of returning.’
He added that while her popularity has fallen in the UK since getting married, her three day visit to New York in September was a ‘remarkable success’ and she clearly enjoys support among ‘Democrats, minorities and the young.’
