She’s here! Meghan Markle just delivered a daughter, her second child with husband Prince Harry. The two are already parents to son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
“It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world,” read a statement from the couple released on June 6, per People.
“Lili was born on Friday, June 4, at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA. She weighed 7 lb. 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home,” the statement continued. “Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.
“This is the second child for the couple, who also have a two-year-old son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor,” the statement concluded. “The Duke and Duchess thank you for your warm wishes and prayers as they enjoy this special time as a family.”
The couple shared their own statement as well on the Archewell website, writing, “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.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex first announced they were expecting their second child on Valentine’s Day 2021 in a move echoing Buckingham Palace’s announcement that Princess Diana was pregnant with Prince Harry. (Their firstborn is apparently already talking, in his toddler way, about Princess Diana!)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met in July 2016 and have been married since May 2018. The couple revealed their second child was a girl during their interview with Oprah Winfrey; they also shared that Markle was due in the summer, and they don’t plan on having more children. This is Queen Elizabeth II’s 11th great-grandchild.
Prince Harry recently opened up about how becoming a father changed his outlook and pushed him to leave the senior royal institution. “I…had a son, who I would far rather be solely focused on, rather than every time I look in his eyes wondering whether my wife is going to end up like my mother and I’m going to have to look after him myself,” he said in his mental health series, The Me You Can’t See. “That was one of the biggest reasons to leave, feeling trapped, and feeling controlled through fear.”
He added, “My father used to say to me when I was younger, ‘Well, it was like that for me, so it’s going to be like that for you’…. That doesn’t make sense—just because you suffered, that doesn’t mean that your kids have to suffer; in fact, quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences that you had, you can make it right for your kids.”
Congratulations to Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, and the entire family!