By Katherine Tinsley
10:19am PDT, Sep 23, 2025
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Prince Archie was born within the royal fold in the U.K., while Princess Lilibet was born in California. Due to the significant distance between them, the Sussexes' 2022 trip to the U.K. was Queen Elizabeth II's first opportunity to meet Lilibet, who was named after the late monarch.
"The following morning, Meg and I left for America. For days and days, we couldn't stop hugging the children, couldn't let them out of our sight, though I also couldn't stop picturing them with granny, the final visit," Harry wrote in Spare.
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"Archie was making deep, chivalrous bows, his baby sister Lilibet cuddling the monarch's shins,"
Prince Harry continued.
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Prince Harry revealed that Queen Elizabeth II called Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet the "sweetest children," but she seemed "bemused" by them.
"She'd expected them to be a bit more… American, I think? Meaning, in her mind, more rambunctious," Harry claimed.
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Broadcaster
Camilla Tominey claimed that
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pushed for Queen Elizabeth II to take a photo with Princess Lilibet, but the request was denied.
"When the couple made another beeline for Windsor Castle, traveling straight there after landing at Farnborough Airport, she refused their request to have professional photographs taken with Archie, three, and her namesake Lilibet, one," Tominey told
The Telegraph.
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"Claiming she had a bloodshot eye, she adroitly denied the Sussexes the photo opportunity they craved," Camilla Tominey continued. "Harry was 'persistent,' according to those party to the meeting, expressing a desire to get an official snap of the two Lilibets together at some point in the future. But of course, it was never to be. She died three months later."
