Prince Harry and his wife Meghan left many members of the royal family “bewildered” when they voiced their intention to name their second child after his grandmother’s intimate nickname, but the late Queen - who died in September - accepted the choice “with good grace”, and was particularly approving of their chosen nickname for their daughter, who turned one in June.
Gyles Brandreth wrote in his new book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait: “According to the Sussexes, Harry sought his grandmother’s permission to use her family nickname as the Christian name for her 11th great-grandchild.
“The Queen’s recollection was a little different. According to the Queen, Harry told her the Sussexes wanted to call the baby Lilibet in her honour and she accepted their choice with good grace, taking it as the compliment it was intended to be.
“Others in the family found the choice ‘bewildering’ and ‘rather presumptuous’, given that Lilibet as a name had always been intimately and exclusively the Queen’s.
“Later, the Queen said: ‘I hear they’re calling her Lili, which is very pretty and seems just right.’ "