Meghan and Harry Accuse BBC of Libel Over Report on Baby Lilibet’s Name

TOPSHOT - Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancée US actress Meghan Markle watch a dance p
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Kurt Zindulka

Meghan Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry have threatened legal action against the BBC over a report which claimed that the woke couple had not consulted with the Queen over the naming of their daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.

The name Lilibet was chosen as it was a family nickname for Queen Elizabeth II since her childhood. It has been suggested that the name choice was meant as an olive branch of sorts to mend the rift between the wayward Prince and his family after he abandoned his royal duties in favour of life in Hollywood.

The BBC’s royal correspondent, Johnny Dymond claimed in an article on Wednesday that he had spoken to a palace insider, who reportedly said that the Queen was “never asked” her opinion of the naming of the couple’s second child.

Within just over an hour after the article’s publication, the couple issued a furious response, threatening to sue the BBC for libel.

A statement provided to The Times from Meghan and Harry’s lawyers said: “The article is false and defamatory and the allegations within it should not be repeated.

“The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement — in fact his grandmother was the first family member he called.

“During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.”

Prince Harry has allegedly had a longstanding dislike for the BBC, even going so far as to blame the public broadcaster for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, over the “deceitful” 1995 Panorama interview with Martin Bashir.

“The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life,” Harry said in May.

Both Harry and Meghan have a litigious history, using the United Kingdom’s strict reporting regulations to sue media outlets over articles to which they took offence.

In February, for example, the Duke successfully won a suit against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday and Mail Online over accusations that he “turned his back” on the Royal Marines.

Meghan also sued the same publisher over the release of correspondence between her and her father. She won the case on the grounds that the article had infringed upon her privacy.

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