The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their baby daughter Lilibet Diana on June 4 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and they announced her birth to the world two days later

When Prince Harry returns to the UK this week, he will travel without wife Meghan and their children – despite reports that Prince William and Princess Kate encouraged them all to visit together.

Given Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down as royals, their move to California, and the subsequent fall out with his family, Lilibet and Archie are very rarely seen by their royal relatives. And that’s been the case ever since Lilibet’s arrival in June 2021, just three months after the couple’s explosive Oprah interview.

Princess Kate was asked about the new baby during a panel discussion with First Lady Jill Biden about the importance of early childhood education on June 11, 2021.

Kate wished the family ‘all the best’ (Image: Avalon All rights reserved)

“I wish her all the very best,” Kate said, when asked how she felt about the Sussexes’ newest addition. “I can’t wait to meet her. We haven’t met her yet. I hope that will be soon.”

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Kate was also asked if she had seen Lilibet via FaceTime or video call and responded that, no, she had not yet. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their baby girl on June 4 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and announced her birth to the world two days later.

“On June 4th, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili. She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe,” a note from the couple read. “Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”

Meghan and Harry rarely bring their kids to meet the royal family (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

It’s thought that the late Queen met her namesake just once – when Harry and Meghan returned to the UK for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The Queen sadly passed away just three months later at the age of 96.

According to a royal expert, Harry was persistent in his desire to get a professional photo of his daughter with the monarch at that time – something the Queen declined.

Writing in the Telegraph , royal expert Camilla Tominey said: “When the couple made another beeline for Windsor Castle, travelling straight there after landing at Farnborough Airport, she refused their request to have professional photographs taken with Archie, three, and her namesake Lilibet, one.

“Claiming she had a bloodshot eye, she adroitly denied the Sussexes the photo opportunity they craved. Harry was ‘persistent’, according to those party to the meeting, expressing a desire to get an official snap of the two Lilibets together at some point in the future. But of course, it was never to be. She died three months later.”

Harry and Meghan raised eyebrows when they announced they had chosen to give their daughter the Queen’s childhood nickname, Lilibet. The couple said at the time they would not have used the name without the Queen’s blessing, with lawyers even telling news organisations such as the BBC to drop “defamatory” suggestions to the contrary.

But according to Daily Mail writer Robert Hardman’s biography, Charles III: New King, New Court, a palace insider said that Queen Elizabeth was “as angry as I’d ever seen her” over claims she had given her blessing for the girl’s name choice.

Hardman writes: “One privately recalled that Elizabeth II had been ‘as angry as I’d ever seen her’ in 2021 after the Sussexes announced that she had given them her blessing to call their baby daughter ‘Lilibet’, the Queen’s childhood nickname. The couple subsequently fired off warnings of legal action against anyone who dared to suggest otherwise, as the BBC had done. However, when the Sussexes tried to co-opt the Palace into propping up their version of events, they were rebuffed.

“Once again, it was a case of ‘recollections may vary’ – the late Queen’s reaction to the Oprah Winfrey interview – as far as Her Majesty was concerned. Those noisy threats of legal action duly evaporated and the libel actions against the BBC never materialised.”