Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have christened their daughter Princess Lilibet Diana in California.

"I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor," a spokesperson for the Sussexes said in a statement.

Lilibet was not a princess at birth because she was not a grandchild of the monarch. She gained the right to the title, however, when her grandfather King Charles III took the throne, according to rules set out by King George V in 1917.

The Wednesday announcement by the Sussexes was the first time Lilibet has been publicly called a princess. Both Lilibet and her brother Archie are entitled to use HRH, or His or Her Royal Highness, and the prince and princess titles, if they choose to under the 1917 rules.

Buckingham Palace did not issue a formal statement on Lilibet's christening, but it was understood that the royal family's website would be updated to reflect the children's titles.

Lilibet is Harry and Meghan's second child, born in 2021. Their son Archie was born in 2019.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan said the royal family had suggested changing the convention that would give Archie the title of "Prince." She said she was never given a reason why "the first member of color in this family [was] not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be."

"Even with that convention I'm talking about, while I was pregnant, they said they wanted to change the convention for Archie. Well why?" Meghan told Oprah.

In:
• British Royal Family
• Prince Harry Duke of Sussex
• Meghan Duchess of Sussex

Haley Ott

Haley Ott is an international reporter for CBS News based in London.

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