Princess Lilibet Turns 2: From Docuseries Debut to New 'Birthright' Title

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter, Princess Lilibet, celebrates her second birthday on June 4 after a year which saw her public profile dramatically increase through the release of her first official portrait, to making her onscreen debut on Netflix.

Born at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital near the Sussexes' family home in Montecito, California, the royal was named in honor of her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose family nickname was "Lilibet."

Harry and Meghan also honored the prince's mother, the late Princess Diana, by giving their daughter "Diana" as a middle name.

A statement from Harry and Meghan, released on June 6, 2021, read: "On June 4th, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili. She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we've felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family."

New Titles

One of the biggest changes in Lilibet's life to have happened in the last 12 months was her widely publicized change in title.

At the time of her birth, Lilibet was a great-granddaughter of the British monarch, Elizabeth II. According to protocols laid out by King George V in 1917, only children of the monarch and grandchildren through the male line are entitled to be styled as His or Her Royal Highness, Prince or Princess of the United Kingdom.

Great-grandchildren of the monarch (barring the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) do not get the titles. Thus, Lilibet and her older brother Archie were not designated as a princess or prince from birth.

However, this changed in September 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II died making the children's grandfather, the then-Prince Charles, the new monarch. With Charles now king, Archie and Lilibet legally became a prince and a princess.

The change in their titles was not confirmed until March 2023, when it was announced by Harry and Meghan that Lilibet had been christened in a private ceremony in California.

A statement from Harry and Meghan's spokesperson read: "Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3, by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev. John Taylor."

This was followed by a statement that confirmed that "the children's titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became Monarch. This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace."

Following this, Buckingham Palace changed the titles on their website to read: "Prince Archie of Sussex" and "Princess Lilibet of Sussex."

With their grandfather's accession, Archie and Lilibet also moved one step closer to the throne in the line of succession. Archie is currently sixth in line to inherit the throne while Lilibet is seventh in line.

Netflix Stardom

Until her first birthday, which was spent in the Britain in June 2022 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, no official solo portrait of Lilibet had been released to the public.

To mark the occasion, Harry and Meghan released a photograph of their daughter sitting in the gardens of their home on the grounds of Windsor Castle, taken by their photographer friend, Misan Harriman.

The public got to see a lot more of the princess in December 2022, with the release of her parent's six-part Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan. Lilibet's life to date was shown in touching family snapshots and clips taken by her parents during the show.

One such video showed the princess hours after her birth as Meghan said in narration that "something felt so complete once we had Lilibet," while Harry added: "I think at the moment I see a lot of my wife in Archie and I see a lot of my mum in Lili. She's very Spencer-like. She's got the same blue eyes and sort of like golden reddish hair."

'Spare'

The public were again given a unique insight into the life of the little princess through Harry's memoir, Spare, released in January 2023.

Despite coming under criticism for a number of bombshell revelations about members of the royal family, as well as personal details, the book became the fastest selling non-fiction book of all time upon release.

The prince described for the first time his daughter's birth, writing that there was "nothing but joy and love in that room."

"I was fully present," he said. "I was with Meg through every push. When the doctor said it was a matter of minutes, I told Meg that I wanted mine to be the first face our little girl saw."

The prince helped deliver Lilibet, writing: "I slid my hands under the tiny back and neck. Gently, but firmly, as I'd seen in films, I pulled our precious daughter from that world into this, and cradled her just a moment, trying to smile at her, to see her, but honestly, I couldn't see anything. I wanted to say: Hello. I wanted to say: Where have you come from? I wanted to say: Is it better there? Is it peaceful? Are you frightened? Don't be, don't be, all will be well. I'll keep you safe."

Public Appearances

So far, Princess Lilibet has made no official appearance in public either in the United States or the United Kingdom.

It was speculated that Lilibet would be present at her grandfather's coronation in May. However, it was announced shortly beforehand that Harry would travel to London for the event alone, while Lilibet and Archie remained with their mother in California.

Though no official announcement has been made or plans released, it is expected that Lilibet will mark her second birthday at home with a small group of her close family, including Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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