Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released a new photo of their one-year-old daughter, Lilibet, following the Sussex family’s visit to the UK for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee festivities.
Lilibet is the spitting image of the Duke of Sussex – including his signature red hair – in the photo taken at his 1st birthday party in the UK this weekend.
The toddler wore a pale blue dress and white hair bow for the celebration, which took place at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, UK, on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the Sussexes said the party was a “casual and intimate picnic in the garden” for “close friends and family”.
Claire Ptak, who created Harry and Markle’s wedding cake in 2018, provided a special cake for Lilibet’s birthday, and family friend Misan Harriman spontaneously snapped the adorable photo of the tot. Harriman also notably directed the “Suits” alum’s maternity shoot in March 2021.
Page Six previously reported that Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children were invited to the intimate party, but were unable to attend due to prior Jubilee commitments.
Harry and Markle’s daughter met Queen Elizabeth II, after whom Lilibet is named, for the first time last week when they brought her and son Archie, 3, to London to celebrate 70 96-year-old monarch’s historic years of service.
Page Six reported that the Queen briefly met her great-granddaughter when the Sussexes landed in the UK. The Queen and Lilibet then reunited at Windsor Castle ahead of Little Saturday’s first birthday.
Harry, 37, and Markle, 40, revealed in June 2021 that the name they had chosen for their daughter was a nod to the Queen’s childhood nickname used by her close family members, including her late husband, Prince Philip.
“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen, whose surname is Lilibet,” read a statement released after Lilibet’s birth.
Sources close to the couple told Page Six that Harry told his grandmother they would name their daughter Lilibet, although other palace sources said they never asked the Queen’s permission.
While the Queen was able to meet Lilibet, as planned, Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, failed to celebrate her birthday and did not meet the young royal .
Page Six exclusively reported on Monday that Harry and Markle invited the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children to Lilibet’s birthday party as an olive branch, but William, 39, and Middleton, 40 , still opted out of attending amid the brothers’ tense rivalry. .
Meanwhile, the Sussexes’ trip to Britain marked Archie’s first return to his father’s native country since the family moved to California after Harry and Markle stepped down from royal duties in 2020.
Harry, Markle and their children landed in London last Wednesday by commercial plane and attended several platinum jubilee events, although they did not join the other royals on the balcony during the Trooping the parade. Color Thursday.
The couple were also greeted with loud boos on Friday as they left the national Thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. At the church service, notables Harry and Markle were seated away from the Cambridges.
They quietly returned to the United States early on Sunday via private jet ahead of the Platinum Jubilee pageant, which capped off the Queen’s four-day festivities.