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King Charles III ’s granddaughter Lilibet was referred to as Princess Lilibet Diana in a new statement that confirmed her christening. PEOPLE magazine reported on March 8 (International Women’s Day) that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry held a christening for their daughter, who turns two in June, last Friday. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told PEOPLE , “I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.”
The statement from the couple’s spokesperson is the first time that Meghan and Harry’s daughter has publicly been referred to as Princess. The Daily Mail’s Rebecca English tweeted, “The title is in line with the precedent created by letters patent issued by George V in 1917 which conferred Prince or Princess on male line Grandchildren of the Sovereign. They have been entitled to be used since The King’s accession. The Sussexes have now chosen to do this.”
The royal family’s website currently refers to Meghan and Harry’s children as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, but a source told CNN that it “will be updated in due course.”
Lilibet’s christening ceremony at the Sussexes’ home in Montecito, California was described as “small and intimate.” According to PEOPLE’s source, Meghan and Harry invited King Charles, Queen Camilla, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales, but the royals, who live across the pond in the UK, did not attend. Guests in attendance included Meghan’s mom Doria Ragland, Lili’s godfather Tyler Perry and an unnamed godmother, per PEOPLE.
In Netflix’s Harry & Meghan documentary series, Tyler Perry revealed that the Duke and Duchess asked if he would be Lilibet’s godfather. “We’ll call and we’ll chat and we’ll talk about silly things, and they were pretty serious on the phone, and I go, ‘Okay, what’s going on?’ They said, ‘Well, we’d like for you to be Lili’s godfather.’ I go, ‘Whoa.’ I had to take a minute to take that in,” the filmmaker recalled. “And I thought, ‘I’d be honored. I’d absolutely be honored.’”
Tyler reportedly flew in for the ceremony with a 10-person gospel choir that sang “Oh Happy Day” and “This Little Light of Mine,” which was performed at Meghan and Harry’s wedding in 2018.