The key difference between Lilibet’s birth certificate and Archie’s
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their daughter Lilibet Diana earlier in the month — and now a question mark has been raised over the details of her birth certificate.
Lili’s birth certificate has emerged online following her birth on June 4, and it appears the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have listed their names differently on the document in comparison to their son Archie’s.
A photo of the Santa Barbara birth certificate, first shared by TMZ, shows Meghan has opted out of signing off with her ‘royal highness’ credentials.
The royal mum is listed as Rachel Meghan Markle, as opposed to “Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex”, as it appears on Archie’s. Harry’s first name is written as The Duke of Sussex while his last name reads, His Royal Highness.
While the pair agreed to stop using their “HRH” titles in an official capacity after stepping down as senior royals in 2020, Harry used the styling on Lili’s birth certificate as it is part of his legal name.
A spokesperson for the Sussexes told ET Canada the duchess used her maiden name on the birth certificate because it was “required”.
Previously, Archie’s birth certificate raised speculation, with reports revealing Meghan had changed her name from “Rachel Meghan” to “Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex” on the document.
At the time, source told the Daily Mail the change occurred “to ensure consistency of the name and title of the Duchess with other private documents”.
However, a spokesperson for the Sussexes told Hello, “The change of name on public documents in 2019 was dictated by The Palace, as confirmed by documents from senior Palace officials. This was not requested by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex nor by The Duke of Sussex.”
Harry and Meghan’s response to the birth certificate name-change controversy included condemnation of the UK press, with the couple’s spokesperson claiming, “There’s a lot going on in the world; let’s focus on that rather than creating clickbait.”
Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten Windsor is named after Queen Elizabeth, ‘Lilibet’ being the Queen’s adorable childhood nickname, and Harry’s late mother Princess Diana.