Queen Elizabeth 'no longer viewed Harry and Meghan as friends or family' after Lilibet row

Queen Elizabeth II was reportedly very upset over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to name their daughter Lilibet - so much so that she voiced her feelings to royal aides.

Lilibet was a nickname that sweetly stuck from her childhood after she could never pronounce her own name. It was fondly used by her father and then Prince Philip.

In Robert Hardman's new book, 'Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story', an insider says that the late monarch was so upset by the Sussexes' decision that she told aides: "I don't own the palaces. I don't own the paintings, the only thing I own is my name. And now they've taken that."

Mr Hardman states that one member of the late Queen's staff also told him that the late monarch was "as angry as I'd ever seen her".

Now the former editor of the Sun has given his interpretation of the comments, and believes it is clear that after the naming dispute the late Queen "no longer viewed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as family or friends".

Kelvin MacKenzie wrote on X, formely known as Twitter: “'I don’t own the palaces. I don’t own the paintings. The only thing I own is my name. And now they’ve taken that.' This quote is said by leading journalist Rebecca English in the Daily Mail to have come from Queen Elizabeth speaking to aides on being told Harry and Meghan called their daughter Lilibet- a very personal term for the former monarch used only by her closest family and friends. Clearly the late Queen no longer viewed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as family or friends."

It was previously reported that Harry had asked his grandmother for permission to use the nickname, with the couple also stating that they would not have used the nickname if she had not been "supportive".

According to a palace source, the BBC's royal correspondent Jonny Dymond reported that the Queen was "never asked" by Harry nor Meghan to use her nickname for their daughter.

Mr Dymond said that his source "disputed" reports that the couple had asked the late monarch for her blessing.

After announcing Meghan's pregnancy on Valentine's Day in 2021, Princess Lilibet was born on June 4.

Unlike Prince Archie, Lilibet was born in California - one year after the couple's decision to step down from royal duties.

A spokesperson for the couple did not hesitate to denounce the report and shared that the late Queen was the first family member that Harry called after Lilibet's birth.

The spokesperson said that, during the conversation, Harry "shared his hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name."

According to an article by the Daily Mail, the late monarch was taken aback when she was told that her great-granddaughter had been named Lilibet in her honour but didn't feel, given the circumstances, that she could say no.

The late Queen's nickname had only been used by her grandfather, her parents, the late Prince Philip and a handful of her closest family and relatives.

The now-two-year-old is said to have only visited the UK once.

She travelled over to Britain in June 2022 and celebrated her first birthday in the UK - during the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee.