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Meet Lilibet Diana, newborn daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Some social media users love the tribute to two royal women, but others are upset. Plus, how to pronounce the baby's name?

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
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Gael Cooper
2 min read
Announcement Of Prince Harry's Engagement To Meghan Markle

The child's names honor two very important royal family members.

 Samir Hussein

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed a baby girl on Friday, and her name couldn't be more royal. The two named their daughter Lilibet Diana, names inspired by two powerhouse royal women. 

Lilibet meaning

"Lilibet" is the nickname Queen Elizabeth II gave herself as a child when she struggled to pronounce "Elizabeth." And "Diana," of course, is for Harry's late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

How to pronounce Lilibet

First off, the pronunciation. It's Lily-bet. 

How did the royal family react to the birth? 

Despite any family differences over Harry and Meghan's recent interview with Oprah Winfrey and Harry's Apple TV Plus series, the royal family immediately congratulated the couple.

"Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of Lilibet Diana!" the royal family posted on Instagram. "The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted with the news. Lilibet is Her Majesty's 11th great-grandchild."

Lilibet Diana bumped her uncle, Prince Andrew, down one spot in the line of succession to the British throne. Although she is American-born and likely will have dual citizenship, the new baby is now number eight in line, following her brother, Archie, 2.

Congrats and criticism 

Lilibet's arrival -- and especially her oh-so-royal name -- drew a reaction on social media.

"Congratulations Meghan, Harry and Archie," tweeted talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres. "Welcome to the world Lilibet! I am more than a Lilibet excited to meet you."

"A big congratulations to Meghan and Harry on the birth of their beautiful baby girl Lilibet Diana, which just happens to be my name too," another Twitter user wrote. "My mother loved the Royals and gave me this amazing name."

Some commenters were huge fans of the name honoring the two famous royal women.

"Lovely tribute on many levels ... not only to Princess Diana, but also Her Majesty the Queen (as Lilibet was Her Majesty's childhood nickname)," wrote one Twitter user.

But others thought that if Prince Harry and his wife were intentionally trying to remove themselves from the royal family, the name was inappropriate.

"Trying to appease the Queen after insulting her ... and giving themselves another opportunity to be talking about Diana all year long with her namesake," said one Twitter user.

But some social media users thought the birth of a baby was perhaps not the place to refight personal battles.

"Congratulations to them," one Twitter user wrote. "Anyone who says anything else (about) the birth of a new child really needs to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror and question who they've become."