The moment Lilibet first met her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, is one that Prince Harry has described in great detail.
The devoted father expresses his pride over his one-year-old daughter’s lovely encounter with the late monarch in his upcoming memoir, Spare, which went on sale five days early in Spain.
Photo: Getty Images
The fact that the private family lunch fell on Lilibet’s first birthday, June 4, during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, made it even more memorable. The child is also given the close family nickname that the Queen used as a child.
Then, Prince Harry revealed that his son Archie had even mastered the royal bow during their meeting. He related how his first attempt at bowing made the Queen happy.
The Duke of Sussex mentioned the special occasion back in September when paying tribute to the Queen, who he described as his “guiding compass,” after her passing.
Photo: Netflix
“I am eternally grateful for all of our first encounters,” he said. “From my earliest childhood memories with you, to first meeting you as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife, and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren.”
Unfortunately for the royals, the COVID pandemic that split families apart during Archie and Lilibet’s formative years. Family gatherings between the monarch and the Sussexes became more challenging after they moved to America.
The details of Harry’s final conversation with his deceased grandmother four days before she passed away in September 2022 are also included in the book, which will be officially released on January 10th.
They talked about the chaos at Downing Street, the Braemar Games, which the Queen wanted to attend but was unable to, and the unusually severe drought in the UK, with Harry making a joke about how the grass looked like his head with patches of baldness.
“For Meg, Archie and Lili… and, of course, my mother,” is how Harry dedicates his memoir in the Spanish translation of “In the Shadow,” which reads, “Para Meg, Archie and Lili… y, for supuesto, mi madre.”
