LILIBET DIANA’s christening is unlikely to take place in the United Kingdom after a senior member of the Royal Family allegedly suggested “it wasn’t a particularly good idea”, a royal commentator claimed. Lilibet Diana, the youngest child of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, has yet to make her debut on UK soil after her birth in Santa Barbara, California, in June.
With no picture of the child available publicly, speculation about what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning for her christening has been rife. NBC royal correspondent Neil Sean claimed it is unlikely Lilibet Diana will have her day at St George’s Chapel in Windsor because of the alleged intervention of a senior Royal Family member.
Mr Sean claimed: “One of the bigger problems that Meghan really encountered of later 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. 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. “Some people may say they’re just capitalising 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.”
He further claimed: “According to a very good source, Prince William was the one who basically said ‘no, we don’t think this is going to work,’ it wasn’t a particularly good idea.” Kensington Palace has declined to comment. Prince William’s relationship with his younger brother Prince Harry has been fraught in recent years, and the brothers have not spent much time together since the Duke of Sussex stepped down from his working royal role in March 2020.
The pair were briefly reunited twice this year, first at Prince Philip’s funeral in April, where they were seen exchanging a few words thanks to Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge’s intervention, and then again in July at the unveiling of a statue commemorating their late mother, Princess Diana.
Over the summer, a friend of the Princess of Wales claimed the brothers had been slowly restarted communications over Zoom. Stewart Pierce suggested Kate and Meghan Markle had also been playing a pivotal role in helping their husbands reconnect albeit virtually.
Mr Pierce said: “I know that the four are talking with one another and they’re talking by Zoom Facetime. They’re very close with one another… “And what’s remarkable is that they all totally respect [each other], but this lens is different.
“It’s not [William and Kate’s] responsibility to be involved in, you know, verbalising anything. “What they do is just simply offer as much peace and tranquillity and calm as possible.” Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their decision to take a step back from active royal work in March 2020 and confirmed the decision to step down indefinitely after a one-year trial.
The couple shortly set up home in Canada following a six-week break from royal duty in the autumn of 2019, which they said they would use to spend time with their then six-month-old son Archie Harrison.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex later relocated to California before international travel was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Neither Meghan Markle nor her son have returned to the UK since, and Lilibet Diana has yet to be introduced to members of the Royal Family in person.
