TL; DR:
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, reportedly met Queen Elizabeth II during Platinum Jubilee weekend.
- A royal commentator says not sharing a Queen Elizabeth and Lili photo marked a major misstep for Buckingham Palace.
- They said it would’ve been a “powerful checkmate” in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “PR chess match” with the palace.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have shared a first birthday portrait of their daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. While royal fans were quick to point out Lili’s resemblance to her dad, a royal commentator says a Queen Elizabeth II and Lili photo would’ve been “powerful.”
Queen Elizabeth and Lili reportedly met in person during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Platinum Jubilee visit
According to The Sun, Harry and Meghan’s daughter finally met her great-grandmother during a family trip to the UK for Platinum Jubilee weekend. The meeting supposedly took place at Windsor Castle, where Meghan and Harry stayed at Frogmore Cottage with Lili and their 3-year-old son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Unlike Archie’s first meeting with Queen Elizabeth, which was documented, the outlet reported no photos of Lili meeting her namesake were taken. They quoted a source as saying royals were concerned a photo would end up on TV in the US. As a result, no Queen Elizabeth and Lili photo came to be.
On June 6, 2022, a day after Platinum Jubilee festivities officially ended, Harry and Meghan released Lili’s first birthday portrait featuring a snapshot from her garden birthday party.
Royal commentator says Buckingham Palace ‘missed a trick’ not sharing a Queen Elizabeth and Lili photo
Before they touched down in England some royal commentators speculated Harry and Meghan, might derail Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. However, royal commentator Daniela Elser felt Buckingham Palace should’ve made the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit work in their favor.
How exactly? By releasing a Queen Elizabeth and Lili photo. Elser noted in The New Zealand Herald the “most obvious argument” against sharing a photo would’ve “blown all other Jubilee coverage out of the water.”
She went on to say the rationale “doesn’t really hold water” because heavy media coverage is a given with them.
“My point is, in simply going back to the UK together, Harry and Meghan’s very presence was always going to be something of a distraction,” she said. “So why not use it to Buckingham Palace’s advantage?”
“I reckon courtiers and aides have really missed a trick here,” Elser added. “Imagine if we had seen this photo of the [sic] queen and Lili — it would have been a powerful checkmate on the part of Her Majesty in the PR chess match which the Sussexes seem intent on playing with the Palace.”
A photo would’ve sent a strong message of the royal family ‘reclaiming the narrative’
A Queen Elizabeth and Lili photo didn’t happen. However, if it had, Elser says it would’ve conveyed the royal family’s in control. It would’ve sent the message of them “retaking command of the situation and reclaiming the narrative,” she said. As opposed to “letting Harry and Meghan call the media shots,” she added.
Moreover, Queen Elizabeth would’ve been seen as “the bigger person,” according to Elser. “No matter the prime-time sins of Lili’s parents, the [sic] queen was, and would always be, a doting great-grandmother.” Additionally, Elser said the monarch would’ve been the picture of “forgiving and loving,” a counter to the “cold-hearted” description suggested by Harry and Meghan’s claims.
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