On Tuesday, Princess Lilibet of Sussex turned four, and her mother, Meghan Markle, is celebrating with a series of Instagram posts showing new views of her and Prince Harry. The first post features one photo of Meghan wearing a linen shirt and holding her daughter on a boat and one taken soon after Lili’s birth in June 2021. “Happy birthday to our beautiful girl!” the Duchess of Sussex wrote. “Four years ago today she came into our lives—and each day is brighter and better because of it. Thanks to all of those sending love and celebrating her special day!”
She returned later with a post featuring one photo of Harry and Lili soon after her birth, and another that shows them walking on the beach. Later on, Meghan shared another memory from the past, a hilarious video showing her and Harry dancing in their hospital room before Lili was born. The video is set to “The Baby Momma Dance,” by Starrkeisha, a viral YouTube hit from 2013, and Meghan and Harry both show off their moves for the camera.
“Four years ago today, this also happened,” the duchess said in a post that also featured a cry-laughing emoji. “Both of our children were a week past their due dates… so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn’t work—there was only one thing left to do!”
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Lili, the second child of Meghan and Prince Harry, was named in honor of her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, who was called “Lilibet” by her parents and sister. The late queen did get to meet her namesake during the Platinum Jubilee weekend in 2022, but no photographer was present. When she was born, her name was announced as “Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor,” but when her grandfather, King Charles III, ascended to the throne in September 2022, she became eligible for the title of princess, and the palace updated its official website to reflect the change in March 2023.
Lili is two years younger than her brother, Prince Archie of Sussex, and she was born about one year after Meghan and Harry left their royal roles and moved from the UK to Southern California. Though official photographs of Archie were released soon after his birth, the public didn’t see an image of Lili until one year later, when photographer Misan Harriman shared a portrait that he took at her birthday party during the Jubilee weekend.
Though Meghan and Harry have attempted to keep their daughter’s face out of any subsequent images, Lili has played a role on her mother’s Instagram account, reflecting the duchess’s evolving feelings about social media. She has also been a part of the press rollout for Meghan’s new lifestyle company, As Ever. When Meghan debuted the brand’s name and visual identity in February, its website featured a photo of the duchess and her daughter running together across a grassy field.
This week, Meghan spoke to Tina Knowles, mother and business partner to Beyoncé, for her podcast Confessions of a Female Founder, asking for tips about running a mother-and-daughter business. “I wonder if one day I’ll be in business with Lili, and we’ll be building something together,” the duchess said.
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