Touching
tribute or royally presumptuous after all their barbs? SARAH VINE on why Lilibet is the name that's split Britain
By Sarah Vine For The Daily Mail
Isn’t this the Lilibet that Harry made out to be a
lousy mother?
By Sarah Vine
What’s in a name?
Well, if you are eighth in line to the British throne, a great deal indeed. I
always felt the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would
choose Diana for their first daughter – after all, so much of Prince Harry’s life has
been defined by the memory of his mother.
But what I – and I
suspect many others – had not anticipated was the choice of the Queen’s childhood
nickname, Lilibet.
On the surface of
it, I can see the attraction. It is such a very pretty name, despite the fact
it’s not a real one.
It conjures up
images of a young Princess Elizabeth, of grainy black and white pictures of
granny as a bonneted toddler, and of intimate family memories. It has fond
connotations for all the royals, even more so perhaps since the Duke of
Edinburgh passed away earlier this year – this was a nickname he used for the
Queen.
But it is perhaps
because Lilibet is such a very rare and special name that no other royal
children have thought to use it.
Even if they had
wanted to, they might well have felt – out of respect for Her Majesty – that it
was overstepping an invisible line, presuming rather too much.
Not the Duke and
Duchess of Sussex, though. As ever, they are not preoccupied with
protocol and propriety, and the gesture has naturally won them plenty of praise
from fans.
It is seen as a
rapprochement, a ‘reaching out’, an ‘olive branch’ extended across the Atlantic
to the folks back home – an emotional act of typical generosity by two people
who, as ever, have been harshly judged by a cynical media.
So it is with some
trepidation that I venture any criticism – after all, in certain quarters
anything other than fawning praise for this pair is tantamount to blasphemy.
But while Harry and
Meghan may have had the absolute best intentions in naming their new arrival
Lilibet, in the light of their recent uncaring attacks on the Queen part of me
worries that it feels like a rather shameless, attention-grabbing attempt to
boost their royal brand – a brand on which their future earnings and
bankability very much depend.
Don’t get me wrong:
I’m delighted at the new arrival. But one can be simultaneously happy for them
and Archie, who now has a little sister, and utterly flabbergasted by the
absolute cheek of it. Lilibet Diana? Seriously? Quite apart from the strange
juxtaposition of the two names – which in itself is an entire psychodrama –
isn’t this Lilibet the same person who according to Prince Harry was a lousy
mother to Prince Charles, and who passed on her lousy parenting skills to him
so he in turn was a lousy father to Harry?
Isn’t this the same
Lilibet who, so Harry and Meghan suggested in that Oprah Winfrey interview,
presided over a bigoted, dysfunctional family of emotional pygmies?
The same Lilibet who
allowed Diana to be frozen out, who failed to ensure Meghan was given the
support she needed when she was struggling to cope with her royal role?
Harry and Meghan’s
supporters have rushed to point out that the couple reportedly asked the Queen
for permission to use Lilibet, and she approved. But she couldn’t exactly have
said no, could she? Not without the fear of another TV interview in which she
would no doubt be accused of snubbing them.
Given everything
that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have said and implied about the Queen over
the past few months, you might have thought she was the last person they would
want to name their precious baby daughter after.
Indeed if she was to
be named after a relative, then surely Meghan’s own mother Doria, who as far as
I can tell has been a constant and selfless source of strength to her daughter,
might have been more appropriate.
Oprah, too, would
have been a possibility given how the queen of interviews has been playing such
a dramatic role in the couple’s lives.
But the actual
Queen, this supposed villainess, this heart- less matriarch? Doesn’t it seem
rather odd, not to mention more than a little opportunistic? Because, let’s be
honest, all Harry and Meghan’s criticism of the royals hasn’t actually gone as
well as they thought it would.
In fact, it’s fair
to say there’s been a bit of a backlash.
Of course, they
could have just openly and honestly apologised; but why do that when you can
turn your misjudgements to strategic advantage?
Because Lilibet
Diana, as a name, certainly has its benefits.
By calling their
daughter after the Queen herself, and using the most intimate and private name
by which she is known, they have ensured that however frosty and distant
relations with the royals back home become, in the eyes of the public the
association with the British Royal Family will never be forgotten.
Whatever the future
now holds, the Queen will be forever a part of their lives. And, crucially, of
Brand Sussex.
