On June 4, 2022, Princess Lilibet of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrated her first birthday with the Sussex family and the British Royal Family.
She was the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 12th great-grandchild, having been born a year earlier in Santa Monica, California. Up until June 2022, Queen Elizabeth hadn’t really met her youngest great-grandchild; instead, she had only interacted with her virtually.
Fortunately, she was reunited with the newest member of their family for her Platinum Jubilee, an occasion created to honor Elizabeth’s remarkable 70-year reign as monarch, before she passed away on September 8 of that year.
To be a part of this historic occasion, Harry and Meghan traveled from their new home in America. At a Thanksgiving ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral, they made their first joint appearance in front of the public in over two years.
Photographers caught a glimpse of Meghan playing with some other royal relatives in one of Buckingham Palace’s windows during the parade, despite the fact that they were not invited to join the rest of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for Trooping The Colour, which included several days’ worth of jubilee activities.
As Lilibet turns one, fans all over the world have enjoyed seeing her develop in front of their very eyes.
Despite accusations for neglecting their royal obligations, Harry and Meghan’s commitment to celebrating this historic occasion is shown by their return trip from America.
Moreover, it provided Lilibet and her brother Archie with a delightful opportunity to honor their great-grandmother as they commemorated the occasion of her first birthday as a member of their expanding family.
On September 15, 1984, at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, Harry was born. He was delivered to his father, King Charles III, and his late mother, Princess Diana. Despite difficulties in his high-profile childhood, like as his parents’ divorce, Harry was admired for his upbeat outlook on life.
By 2005, Harry had enrolled in the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he served honorably for eleven years before retiring from active duty in May 2015. His enthusiasm in serving in the military had grown. In spite of this, he discovered ways to continue giving back by volunteering and helping injured service members.
Prior to being named Captain General of the Royal Marines by Her Majesty The Queen in 2017, he had achieved the rank of Lieutenant with The Household Cavalry and completed two tours in Afghanistan. Prince Philip had previously held the job.
Harry met Meghan Markle on a blind date in 2016, and it was love at first sight for both of them! Their passion for growing didn’t take long; Harry said, “I was astonished when I walked into that room and saw her…I’m going to have to boost my game here!”
Just over three years after meeting, they got married in 2018 at Windsor Castle. They then announced their intention to step down from their top royal positions at the end of 2020.
When Meghan and Prince Harry got married in 2018, their romantic journey officially began. Since then, they have been spreading their beautiful love all over the world. Archie and the most recent addition, Lilibet Diana, are the couple’s two children. Even still, they faced difficulties early in their marriage when they announced their separation from the royal family.
The two announced in an Instagram post on January 8, 2020, that they intended to leave the Royal Family as “senior” members in order to live more independently while continuing to show unwavering love for Her Majesty The Queen. Queen Elizabeth responded by writing a sympathetic letter in which she indicated her support for Harry and Meghan’s decision, even though she had preferred that they continue to be full-time employees of the royal family.
The Princess of Wales is commemorated by her middle name Diana, while Queen Elizabeth, whose family nickname is Lilibet, is recognized by Lilibet’s name. The couple’s first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, is now two years old.
Following the birth of their baby, Harry and Meghan issued an official statement thanking everyone for their well-wishes and prayers during this critical period as a family.
The royal family was overjoyed to learn of Meghan and Harry’s new baby, especially as it would be Queen Elizabeth II’s eleventh great-grandchild. This baby was notable since it was named after Queen Elizabeth’s loving nickname “Lilibet,” which her close family members had given her because she couldn’t pronounce her name as a young princess.
Since Meghan and Harry had not made their children’s images public, the release of a close-up photo of one-year-old Lilibet was all the more noteworthy. The picture of Lilibet laughing and sporting a white ribbon in her hair while wearing a pretty baby blue frock went viral right away, revealing that the young princess had inherited her father’s distinctive red hair.
While King Charles’ reign heralded Lilibet’s elevation to the monarchy by George VI’s 1917 guidelines, Meghan and Harry have yet to decide whether they will accept princely titles for their two children.
The Instagram photo received over 75,000 likes and numerous comments from followers who were overjoyed to witness such a lovely event. “Wow, what a gorgeous child Lili is!” said one enthusiast. Thank you very much for sharing—absolutely stunning!”
The announcement of this new addition to the family came at a much-needed time for the monarchy, which had just experienced immense grief with the passing of Prince Philip, Lilibet’s great-grandfather, in 2021 at 99 years old, when Meghan was unable to attend his funeral due to pregnancy advisories against travel.
There is little doubt that every choice we make now will have an effect on our development as a society and lead us all to a more fair and compassionate future when we consider the generations to come.
Therefore, it is vital to remember special milestones like Lilibet’s first birthday because they act as reminders of beauty within each new beginning and as symbols of optimism through difficult times—something even royalty understands well.
