“Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of Lilibet Diana!” Buckingham Palace said in a statement via Instagram. “The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted with the news.”

The palace added that baby Lili joins an already large royal brood. “Lilibet is Her Majesty’s 11th great-grandchild.”

The couple announced in February that they were expanding their family after their son Archie’s May 2019 birth. “We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother,” the pair’s rep told Us Weekly in a statement at the time. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”

Lili and Meghan are both healthy and recovering at their Montecito home. When Lili’s birth was announced, Meghan and Harry’s Archewell website included an explanation for her name. “Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”

An insider revealed that the monarch was one of the first to know that Lili was born. “The queen was one of the first people Harry and Meghan told about the birth and they’ve sent her photos,” the source explained to In Touch. “She has put the drama [from the interviews] aside.”

The following month, the former military pilot, 36, revealed the sex of their upcoming arrival in their CBS tell-all interview, saying, “Just to have a boy and a girl, what more can we ask for? We’ve got our family. We’ve got, you know, the four of us and our two dogs, and it’s great.”

The Suits alum, 39, chimed in with their second child’s summer due date. The former actress, who suffered a miscarriage in July 2020, added that they’d be done having children after baby No. 2.

The Los Angeles native previously told Lifestyle magazine in 2016 that she had “always” wanted to be a mom.

“It’s all about balance and I have so much happiness in my career and am fortunate to travel the world and see so many amazing things,” Meghan said at the time. “It will also be nice to be anchored to something grounded and in the same place. Raising a family will be a wonderful part of that.”

As for the prince, Harry said that he “would love to have kids” during an appearance on The Telegraph’s “Mad World” podcast the following year.

“I’m a godfather to quite a few of my friends’ kids … Actually only five or six. I’d like to think [I’m a good godfather],” he said in 2017. “But I think the key to that is growing up, but also to be able to stay in touch with your childhood side. If that means going to someone’s house and sitting there and playing PlayStation and kicking the ass of their son on whatever it is, then I’ll try and do that. I’ve actually had a lot of practice for that.”

Harry wed the Deal or No Deal alum in May 2018, and the couple announced their decision to step back from their duties as senior royal family members two years later. They moved to Canada with their baby boy in January 2020, then briefly lived in Los Angeles before buying a home in Montecito, California.

“The outdoor play area will be decked out with swings and slides, a climbing frame and a tea area for Archie and his new little pals,” a source exclusively told Us of their renovation plans in August 2020. “Meghan’s counting the days until Archie can start interacting with children his own age.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Riley Cardoza