Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrated their daughter Lilibet’s 1st birthday last week — but there were two noticeable absences from the celebrations…
Prince William and Kate Middleton didn’t make it.
And now they’ve revealed why…
Keep scrolling to find out more.
Now, Harry and Meghan seem to have been the pillars of scrutiny against the Royal Family since stepping down from their positions last January.
Meghan and Harry said they wanted a more private life for their children, and moved to Los Angeles to live a more normal life out of the media eye.
However, many feel like the couple has truly slandered the Royal Family.
And that Harry’s relationships with his brother, father, and grandparents are “hanging by a thread.”
Although, through the rifts, there were reports that the Royal Family was “delighted” by the news of the couple’s second child, Lilibet’s birth.
Despite Harry’s continuous blasting of them across all media platforms.
Harry’s relationship with his family remains strained.
With Charles apparently refusing his calls in the lead up to the announcement in 2020. Harry also said he was financially cut off from his father after they stepped down and at first they were forced to live off Diana’s inheritance.
Asked by Oprah Winfrey during their televised interview about why they left, Harry blamed a “lack of support and lack of understanding.”
He also said he wanted to get away from the ‘genetic pain’ he felt from his family, especially his father, Prince Charles.
“I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like, (and) Archie’s his grandson.”
“But at the same time – I will always love him – but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship. But they only know what they know, or what they’re told.”
Then, of course, following Lilibet’s birth came the controversy surrounding her name…
With one royal biographer, Angela Levin, deeming it as ‘rude.’
As we know, their baby girl was named Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
Paying tribute to Harry’s late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in 1997, when Harry was just twelve.
The name Lilibet is also a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II herself.
A family pet name, the Queen bestowed it on herself as a child as she couldn’t pronounce the name Elizabeth. The name was particularly used by the Queen’s late husband Prince Philip. It was also used by her doting father, King George VI.
But, despite the tribute, people still weren’t happy with some even accusing that, by using the Queen’s private pet name as a first name, Harry had broken royal protocol.
Harry was heavily criticized for taking such a private, intimate pet name and giving it to his child, after what some are calling an ‘onslaught of abuse’ against his grandmother and The Firm.
Royal commentator, Richard Kay, suggested that it may be a step too far for Meghan and Harry to name their daughter Lilibet.
Writing in a column for the Daily Mail, he said: “By giving the baby the name Lilibet, the Queen’s private family nickname – even though they intend to use the diminutive ‘Lili’ for their daughter – there is a risk.”
“Will it be seen as a presumptuous choice for a royal baby who is eighth in line to the throne, but who will grow up on the other side of the world speaking with an American accent?”
“It is tempting to wonder if Harry would have been so emboldened in his choice if his grandfather Prince Philip – the only close family member permitted to call the Queen ‘Lilibet’ – had still been alive.”
“Doubtless, there will be among the more cautious courtiers at the Palace some discomfort and the odd raised eyebrow at this latest convention-destroying Exocet from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
There was a mixed response to the name, with some believing that the couple were pandering to the queen for forgiveness, whilst others thought that it was a touching tribute.
Meghan planned to share all about the controversy as well as her life as a dutchess, and much more during a segment on The Ellen Show..
And as you can imagine, people had a lot to say about it…
Meghan’s laid-back interview appeared on the show last year, on November 18th…
And it went into detail about her life before and after joining the royal family.
Ellen teased the interview saying:
“A lot has changed since the last time Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, was on the Warner Brothers lot. Don’t miss the rest of our interview tomorrow.”
In the clip for the episode shared to Twitter, Meghan can be seen reminiscing about her life as an actress…
Meghan told the talk-show host: “I would park on gate three and I would scoot on over and the security guards here would always say ‘break a leg, I hope you get it.’ So driving today was very different.”
She even shared a comical moment before she made it big in the acting world…
Speaking about her old car, Meghan said: “It had a life of its own so I had this very old Ford Explorer Sport and at a certain point the key stopped working on the driver’s side, so you couldn’t get yourself in through the door so after auditions, I would park at the back of the parking lot and I would open the trunk and climb in, pull the door shut behind me and crawl all over my seats to get out. That’s how I would come to and fro.”
Ellen went on to ask if anyone ever noticed…
To which Meghan replied: “No I would play it off, I’d go ‘Oh, I’m just looking for my resume, highlighters for my script. Maybe it’s back there,’ and then crawl in and close it.”
Surprisingly, Meghan also touched on the topic of family life.
Speaking of living in Montecito, Meghan described the family as being “just happy.”
But despite revealing how happy they are in California…
Meghan made a pretty heartbreaking confession about Lilibet and people are pretty unsure about a suggested method of treatment…
Meghan revealed that Lilibet started teething…
And it was causing her a lot of pain.
Meghan told the talk show host that she was looking for “anything to relieve” Lilibet’s teething pain.
To which Ellen jokingly replied: “Tequila.”
“That’s Auntie Ellen for you,” Meghan responded as Ellen said, “That’s why I don’t have kids.”
But, since then, Lilibet has been doing really well.
In fact, the adorable little girl is celebrating her 1st birthday.
And in doing so, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have shared a sweet birthday portrait of the young Lilibet.
Lilibet’s birthday was on Saturday, 4, June.
And in honor of her 1st ever birthday, her momma and pappa have attributed a portrait where you can most certainly see the red locks she got from her father.
The portrait was taken by the couple’s friend, Misan Harriman, at Frogmore cottage where they celebrated her birthday with an intimate backyard picnic.
Everybody was obsessed with the picture of Lilibet who donned an adorable blue frock.
But the occasion wasn’t without drama…
As Prince William and Kate Middleton skipped the celebrations.
And a source told Page Six exactly why…
“Things are still fraught – William is still wary of spending any time alone with Harry as you never quite know what may be reported back afterward,” they said.
The pair blamed their absence on them being coincidentally double-booked.
“It’s simply a coincidence they fell on the same day,” the insider told the outlet. “There was no intended slight.”
It’s safe to say that there is a whole lot of drama around little Lilibet.
If you want to see some photographs from the birthday weekend, you can check them out here.