Prince William May Not Let Harry And Meghan Bring Lilibet To Windsor Castle

Christenings are a massive deal in the royal family. Aside from anything else, the royals take religion very seriously, and technically, a child isn’t a legitimate heir to the throne unless they’re baptized into the Church of England. This has been a rule for a long time, and it probably won’t change anytime soon.

As for the christening ceremony itself — well, as with just about everything the royals do, there are certain rules that are expected to be followed on the day. Everything from the gowns to the type of holy water has centuries of tradition behind it. You can see how Harry and Meghan, who don’t always play by the rulebook, might balk at a few of these requirements.

For a start, all royal babies — including Harry and Meghan’s first child, Archie — have been baptized in the same Honiton lace gown. Well, sort of the same gown. The original was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1841, but obviously, almost 200 years of intermittent use had left the garment a little worse for wear. So since 2008 an exact reproduction has been used instead.

And tradition dictates that royal newborns are also supposed to be baptized in the same font as their forebears, which is the flower-shaped Lily Font which is kept in the Tower of London. This is another tradition passed down from Queen Victoria: she and her husband Prince Albert had the font made after the birth of their first child.

For royal christenings, the font is supposed to be filled with water from the River Jordan, where Jesus was said to have been baptized. This doesn’t always work in practice, though. When Prince William was baptized in 1983 regular tap water was used, for example, because the Palace had no ready supply of Jordanian fluid to hand.

The other important function of the royal christening is to name the godparents. Usually, royals don’t stop at just one godparent and give the honor to at least five people, and these people are named in the media. Harry and Meghan did things differently for Archie’s christening, though, and never revealed the identity of his godparents to the press.

Their reason for keeping schtum was simple: they wanted their son to enjoy as much privacy as possible. Yet despite their best efforts, some names did eventually make it to the media. The Sunday Times newspaper reported in 2020 that Archie’s godparents included Harry’s old nanny Tiggy Pettifer, his childhood father-figure Mark Dyer, and his best friend Charlie van Straubenzee.

But who are Lilibet’s godparents? No one knows, because the world knows pretty much absolutely nothing about her at all beyond the basics. She was born on June 4, 2021, in her mother’s home country of America. And she’s eighth in line to the throne, behind her brother Archie and her Cambridge cousins — or at least she will be once she’s baptized.

If you’re wondering why Lilibet has such an unusual name, it’s because she was actually named after the Queen in a roundabout way. When Queen Elizabeth was a child, she couldn’t pronounce the name “Elizabeth” so called herself “Lilibet,” and her family members began using it as a nickname.

Lilibet’s parents will call her “Lili” rather than her full name, though, it seems. And Lilibet’s middle name is Diana, and that’s obviously a tribute to Harry’s mother Princess Diana. The couple even said in their public statement confirming the birth that the name was picked “to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”

But apart from that statement, Meghan and Harry have released absolutely no details about their second child. She was born after the two of them had stepped down from the royal family in a cloud of controversy, so they did have more options about what they could and couldn’t reveal to the press. 

With other royals, keeping a baby’s birth mostly private just isn’t feasible. For two generations now it’s been traditional for the new royal parents to pose outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital, London, with their baby. Princess Diana and Prince Charles did it with William, who in turn did it with his own wife and child.

Royals who aren’t direct heirs have given birth at the Lindo Wing, too. Princess Anne had her children Peter and Zara there, and of course, the other two Cambridge children were born there in the years following Prince George’s birth. Kate’s sister Pippa — not a royal but pretty close — also had her child at the hospital.

Yet apparently Meghan never even considered having her first child at the Lindo Wing where the cameras were. According to an insider in 2019 who spoke to The Post newspaper, Meghan in fact “felt sorry” for Kate having to present her baby to the world’s media on the same day she had given birth.

Instead, Archie was born at The Portland hospital in London — but no one knew until the little boy’s birth certificate was made public. Some had thought Meghan would want a home birth at Frogmore Cottage, but it turned out she went to hospital in the end. She definitely didn’t pose outside it, though.

The media weren’t allowed a photo of baby Archie until Meghan had been home with him for a couple of days. And when the photoshoot at Windsor Castle was done, it was deliberately a very small affair, with only one reporter, two snappers, and three video cameras allowed through the doors.

After that was the matter of Archie’s title. The first reports about Prince Harry’s new son said that he wouldn’t have a royal title and would be referred to as “Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.” The media indicated that Harry and Meghan had deliberately opted not to title him, wanting him to be “normal” instead.

But later, after they had left the royal family and sat down for a tell-all TV interview with Oprah in 2021, Harry and Meghan said giving Archie a title or not “was not our decision to make.” And what’s more, they weren’t happy at all with the way things had turned out. It was one of several grievances they had with the wider royal family.

Despite all of the feuding with Harry and Meghan’s camp, the royals did offer public congratulations when Lilibet was born. A Buckingham Palace spokesman told the media, “The Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been informed and are delighted with the news of the birth of a daughter for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”

But all the same, the very public feud between Harry and his family hints at problematic times ahead. On June 11, a week after Lilibet had been born, Kate told reporters that she hadn’t met the baby yet, despite wanting to see him — and she added she hadn’t even talked to Meghan face to face via digital media.

And unfortunately, there may be a new bone of contention soon. According to Neil Sean, the royal correspondent for the news channel NBC, Meghan and Harry actually wanted to have Lilibet christened the same way her brother and cousins had been. But allegedly none other than Prince William had scuppered those plans.

Sean told British newspaper the Daily Express in September 2021, “One of the bigger problems that Meghan really encountered of late is that she wanted her daughter, Lilibet Diana, to be christened in the place she was married alongside her husband Prince Harry. And then the christening of her firstborn, Archie. But that came to a grinding halt.”

The report went on, “Both Harry and Meghan were very keen to make that return and make sure that christening happened, particularly in front of Her Majesty the Queen.” The couple weren’t put off by all the specific requirements of a royal christening.

Sean told the Daily Express, “Some people may say they’re just capitalizing on their royal connection, and why not? It's how they make money now. But moving forward there was one person who basically decided there wasn’t an appetite for this, and the person that seemingly is, so far, not willing to kiss and make up with his younger brother.”

Not good news, then, for people who were hoping the brothers might repair their relationship soon. Sean said, “According to a very good source, Prince William was the one who basically said, ‘No, we don't think this is going to work.’” Kensington Palace offered no comment as to whether that was indeed the case.

But previous news reports had indicated that yes, Harry and Meghan really did want Lilibet to be christened at Windsor. In July 2021 a “royal source” told Richard Eden of British newspaper the Daily Mail, “Harry told several people that they want to have Lili christened at Windsor, just like her brother.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has of course made things more difficult in that regard, since Harry and Meghan live in America now and there have been lots of travel restrictions between the USA and the U.K. Still, the source told the Daily Mail that the couple “are happy to wait until circumstances allow.”

But other people think Harry and Meghan may have already had Lilibet quietly baptized in America after giving up on plans to go back to Windsor. In October 2021 royal expert Russell Myers said on the podcast Pod Save the Queen, “I just think they will probably drop an announcement that it’s already happened and that will be all you know about it.”

Myers went on, “It’ll be very interesting to see if it is in the States, whether there are pictures that emerge over in the States, whether you get to know who her godparents are, because hark back to the time when it became such an issue that Harry and Meghan decided not to release the names of [Archie’s] godparents.”

That same month British tabloid newspaper The Sun threw out some speculation from insiders about what an American royal christening might entail. Royal expert Ingrid Seward said, “If Lilibet is christened in America, maybe Harry’s friends would fly out. I don’t think any members of the immediate royal family would have time [to fly over]. Their schedules are organized six months in advance.”

She also thought a ceremony in America might be more private than one in Britain. Seward said, “If it happens in the U.K. obviously people will find out, but if it happens [in California], I don’t know that there will be any official announcement. They’ll have their own Vogue cameraman there, there will definitely be photos, but they may not release any.”

Still, Seward said she was personally sure the ceremony would be held in Harry’s home country, and she would be “very surprised” if it wasn’t. She said, “Harry has seen such a long tradition of royal christenings, and there’s nothing nicer than a royal christening and the beautiful long Honiton robe.”

Seward went on, “Harry’s great-grandmother is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England — and Meghan was inducted into the Church of England. If they wanted, Harry and Meghan could have [the christening] privately in the chapel at Windsor Castle.” But could they really do that even if Prince William didn’t like the idea?

Well, yes, they could, because Prince William’s authority doesn’t override that of the Queen. She’s the monarch, after all. And according to Seward, “The Queen is not going to say no, she may not be able to be there herself but she’s not going to say they can’t have it there.”

But of course, all this christening controversy is symptomatic of a bigger problem: the supposed rifts in the royal family, particularly the one between William and Harry. Towards the end of the year, Britain’s Channel 5 TV network released a documentary called 2021: The Queen’s Terrible Year, in which royal commentators speculated on the current state of the brothers’ relationship. Expert Camilla Tominey said, “The Queen is a conflict-avoider by nature. The idea of Harry and William not being close, I think would really trouble her.”

And royal photographer Arthur Edwards said, “It must be upsetting to the Queen to see that in her family, that two boys… [who] grew up together... played soldiers together, they had their treehouse at Highgrove together and learned to fly together. They flew helicopters together, and now they’re not even talking to each other.”

Could the Queen give Harry the go-ahead for a Windsor christening for that very reason, in an attempt to bring her grandsons back together? Another royal expert, Emily Nash, pointed out on the show, “The Queen made it clear in her statement in response to the Oprah interview that Harry and Meghan remained much-loved members of the family.”

Royal family fans are very keen indeed for the brothers to make up, and even more so now that there’s a new baby in the picture. They can only hope that Lilibet will meet her uncle soon, regardless of where the christening takes place, and that he continues to be in her life as she grows up. Fans looked on in hope when the princes came together in July 2021 to unveil a statue of their mother. People were so intent on seeing how the brothers interacted, in fact, that they missed a key detail about the outfit they’d chosen for the memorial.

The statue itself? That was commissioned by the brothers in early 2017 — so, a few years before Harry and William’s rift began. And the princes explained why they’d given the artwork the go-ahead, saying, “It has been 20 years since our mother’s death, and the time is right to recognize her positive impact in the U.K. and around the world with a permanent statue.” 

“Our mother touched so many lives. We hope the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on her life and her legacy,” William and Harry continued. First thing first, though, they had to find the right person for the job. It had to be a sculptor who could perfectly capture Diana’s likeness — and that particular outfit, too. 

The search didn’t take long. Ian Rank-Broadley got the nod — perhaps because he’s the guy who created the famous image of the Queen on British coins. And the brothers released a joint statement to the media talking about the choice. They also revealed what it meant for them to have reminders of their mother. 

William and Harry said in their statement, “We have been touched by the kind words and memories so many people have shared about our mother over these past few months. It is clear the significance of her work is still felt by many in the U.K. and across the world — even 20 years after her death.” 

“Ian is an extremely gifted sculptor, and we know that he will create a fitting and lasting tribute to our mother,” William and Harry added. “We look forward to unveiling the statue.” But plenty would have changed by the time the pair met up to actually do this. 

It was during this same year that both princes opened up to the world about their mother’s passing. It had been 20 years since Diana’s sudden death, but judging by what William and Harry revealed, the wounds still felt fresh. And hearing them talk about their mom was harrowing. Even thinking about that statue — and its very specific outfit — may have been too much to bear. 

The documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy revealed the deep grief that both men still felt. William said on camera, “Losing someone so close to you is utterly devastating, especially at that age. There’s not many days that go by that I don’t think of her.” 

Meanwhile, Harry said, “[Diana] smothered us with love, that’s for sure. There’s not a day that William and I don’t wish that she was… still around. And we wonder what kind of a mother she would be now, and what kind of a public role she would have, and what a difference she would be making.” 

That same year, Harry opened up about the mental health struggles he’d experienced following Diana’s death. Speaking on the podcast Bryony Gordon’s Mad World, he said, “I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12, and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years, has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but my work as well.” But at least he had someone in his corner to help him.

Harry revealed that eventually he had “started to have a few conversations.” And it was William, he said, who had encouraged him to get therapy. The younger prince explained, “For me, my brother — God bless him — has been an enormous support.” Yes, at one time, the pair had a strong bond. When the time came to unveil the statue, however, that bond seemed to be broken. 

It all started — as far as we know — in January 2020. That’s when Harry and Meghan made the shock announcement that they were no longer going to be senior royals. And in the chaotic aftermath, William and Harry’s brotherly relationship appeared to completely fall apart. 

At the time, an insider said to The Sun that William was “incandescent with rage” about the bombshell decision. Then a few days later, The Sunday Times reported that William had told a friend, “I’ve put my arm around my brother all our lives, and I can’t do that anymore. We’re separate entities.” It was sad to hear — especially when you consider all the two had gone through together. 

Harry told his side of the story during that much-publicized interview with Oprah. He said, “My father and my brother, they are trapped [within the royal family]… They don’t get to leave. I love William to bits, he’s my brother, we’ve been through hell together... but we’re on different paths.” 

That was the energy in the air when the two brothers met to unveil the statue, complete with its distinctive outfit. It was a big moment in both their lives: honoring the mother who had loved them so much. And while both men were too professional to let any bad blood get in the way of the event, you had to wonder how they were really feeling. 

Harry also traveled to Kensington Palace separately from his brother. If media reports are to be believed, he was driven there by a member of his new press team. And, apparently, Harry and William only reunited mere minutes before the statue was set to be unveiled in the Sunken Garden. 

But that could have been because there were other guests at the event for William and Harry to greet. That would have kept them busy. Their uncle Charles Spencer and aunts Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale were present. Some of Diana’s friends were also there. And, of course, Ian Rank-Broadley had been invited, too. 

The princes seemed very friendly indeed with their aunts and uncle, and there didn’t seem to be any animosity towards Harry as they all hugged and kissed. But because the event was so private, it was up to lip-readers and body language experts to work out what was going on between the brothers. 

Lip-reader Jeremy Freeman told the Daily Star that he thought he knew what the princes were saying. After being told how to remove the statue cover, Harry apparently remarked to William, “We will be okay.” Then William supposedly said in response, “I didn’t want anything to go wrong. It’s important we unveil it right.” 

The signs looked good on the body language front, too. That’s according to Judi James, who said to the Daily Mirror, “They could have opted for a chilly distance with just a few curt words exchanged, but instead William and Harry took the decision to show a display of unity.” How did she know this? 

Well, James went on, “There were clearly some signs of inner tensions, but the self-comfort ritual that was Harry’s wedding ring fiddling and William’s jacket-patting and touching were all normal traits for both brothers.” And, she told the newspaper, there were definitely some notes of hope for the brothers’ strained relationship. 

“There were moments of eye contact between them — and with no obvious changes of eye expression or face-dropping that might suggest suppressed enmity,” James said of Harry and William. “Instead, Harry’s wide, horizontal grin looked so much like the old, playful Harry before the rift. And William’s rounded cheeks and rather more puckered lips suggested genuine pleasure.” Could their estrangement finally be coming to an end? 

In any case, the unveiling seemed to go well, and both William and Harry appeared happy with the statue. It was a tribute laden with meaning, after all. The sculpture depicts a casually dressed Diana accompanied by three young children. Touchingly, it looks as though she’s interacting with the kids in a caring, motherly way. 

And while the “clothes” on the statue may look pretty ordinary, they, too, appear to hold extra meaning. The media was quick to notice that the outfit looks very much like the one Diana wore for her 1993 Christmas card. That was the first she had posed for after splitting up from Prince Charles, and she made sure to involve the young William and Harry in the picture. 

It’s very possible that the statue’s outfit — a pleated shirt paired with a skirt and belt — was a deliberate choice by William and Harry. After all, the sculpture depicts Diana as a caregiver more than a princess or a celebrity. It could be that the two went back over old outfits to decide which one represented Diana best. Maybe they even did so together. Perhaps the brothers would mention this after unveiling the statue? 

Well, if William and Harry had carefully chosen that outfit, they kept that information to themselves. In a joint statement — released to the media after the statue was revealed — they said, “Today, on what would have been our mother’s 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength, and character. [They were] qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better.” 

“Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy,” the princes continued. “Thank you to Ian Rank-Broadley, [Sunken Garden designer] Pip Morrison and their teams for their outstanding work, to the friends and donors who helped make this happen, and to all those around the world who keep our mother’s memory alive.” 

Kensington Palace also released a statement about the statue, and that explained the outfit a little further. “The figure of Diana, Princess of Wales, is surrounded by three children who represent the universality and generational impact of the princess’ work,” it said. “The portrait and style of dress was based on the final period of her life as she gained confidence in her role as an ambassador for humanitarian causes, and [it] aims to convey her character and compassion.”  

But if any royal fans were expecting the artist himself to speak out on the outfit, they would have been disappointed. At least he was gracious about Diana and her legacy. Speaking in a statement, Ian Rank-Broadley said, “Diana, Princess of Wales was an icon who touched the lives of people right around the world, so it has been a privilege to work with Prince William and Prince Harry on this statue... We wanted to capture her warmth and humanity while showcasing the impact she had across generations.” 

But did the acclaimed sculptor succeed in his aim? Well, there was a bit of a mixed reaction from art critics once the statue had made its debut. The Guardian’s Jonathan Jones slammed it as “a spiritless hunk of nonsense” — and that was just for starters. 

Jones went on to say that the statue “stands in an awkward, stiff, lifeless pose and has a face that’s more manly than I remember, modeled apparently with thickly gloved hands and no photo to consult.” Ouch. But it seems that at least one photo must have been consulted for the outfit. 

The critic went on, “It is a religious image that shamelessly plays up to the most mawkish aspects of Diana worship. She deserves to be remembered. But does she need to be turned into a colossal divine protectress of all children? If that is how Harry and William think of her, that’s up to them. But this looks like the art of a new religion.” Other commentators were kinder, though. 

The Independent’s Mark Hudson wrote of the statue, “The symmetrical arrangement brings a medieval feel, while there’s a strong sense of Victorian philanthropy in Diana’s majestic magnanimity. The Queen in People’s Hearts has become the mother of children everywhere. And there’s a moving and slightly eerie sense of an image glimpsed beyond the grave.” 

Other critics weren’t happy about the choice of outfit given to the statue. Alastair Sooke, writing for The Daily Telegraph, called the chosen clothes “kitsch.” That said, he also conceded, “For die-hard fans [of Diana], [the statue] will suffice.” 

Rachel Campbell-Johnston also criticized the shirt and skirt combo in her review for The Times. She wrote of the Diana statue, “She stands, arms outspread in the pose of a traditional religious Madonna. But instead of flowing veil and falling robes, she is wearing a somewhat frumpy 1980s outfit.” Oh, dear... 

Hopefully the statue’s mixed reception wasn’t too hard on William and Harry, as they very much did what they set out to do. They unveiled the statue of their mother while acting as a family unit. It may even have been the first step in repairing their relationship for good. 

There’s a hint that bridges may eventually be mended. Royal experts Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand made waves in 2020 with their book Finding Freedom — apparently an inside look at Harry and Meghan’s break from the royal family. And an updated version, released a year later, included more details about the Diana statue ceremony as well as a quote from an unnamed friend of the prince. 

The friend apparently said that William and Harry were “deeply devoted to carrying on their mother’s legacy, and no amount of hurt feelings would ever get in the way of that. It is an absolute priority. And even amidst this other stuff, they simply wouldn’t proceed without one another together.”  

That wasn’t the only good news. Not long after the ceremony, another supposed insider told Us Weekly, “William and Harry spent the morning before the statue unveiling looking through old keepsakes, notes from Diana, and bonding. They have absolutely turned a new page in their relationship and have started the healing.” 

The source added, “Everyone around [William and Harry] was thrilled to see how close they were on the day of the statue unveiling.” So that’s good news for those who want the brothers back together like they used to be. Hopefully they’ll spend the next big anniversary bonding over their mother as well. Or maybe the release of Prince Harry’s memoir in 2022 will be enough to push what's left of their relationship over the edge. William does seem to be very protective over his family, after all.