Meghan Markle and Prince Harry picked a particularly somber day to announce the christening of their daughter, Lilibet.
Fans were quick to point out that, in contrast to christenings held for other royal babies, they chose International Women’s Day to reveal details of the ceremony, which was held at their Montecito home.
But it was also a very important day for the entire British royal family.
The announcement was made on March 8th, exactly six months after Her Majesty The Queen, Lilibet’s namesake, passed away.
At the age of 96, the late monarch passed away peacefully at her home in Balmoral on September 8.
Harry and Meghan have made announcements on other auspicious dates in the past as well.
They decided to make Meghan’s pregnancy with Lilibet public on February 14 of 2021, which also happened to be the day Princess Diana made public her pregnancy with Prince Harry.
In the final episode of his Netflix docuseries, Harry said that after the announcement, he started receiving messages with images of newspaper clippings from the front page where Diana had announced she was expecting Harry, her second child, on February 14, 1984.
“I felt stunned. We were clueless. It was merely coincidental, or perhaps it wasn’t, “said Harry.
Meanwhile, he discussed the significance of the beginning of his romance with Meghan in his frank memoir Spare.
He disclosed that the couple first texted one another on a social media app before exchanging numbers and staying up late texting.
“I thought about how strange, surreal, and eerie it was that this lengthy conversation should have started on July 1, 2016. the age of fifty-five for my mother, “wrote the Prince.
A representative for Prince Harry and Meghan confirmed Lilibet’s christening on Wednesday, saying: “I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Bishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.”
It was the first time Lilibet had ever been addressed as Princess in public. When her grandfather, the King, ascended to the throne, she was made a princess.
It is understood that Lilibet and Archie will only refer to themselves as princess and prince, respectively, in official contexts.
