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Why the Queen was given the nickname 'Lilibet'

Photo credit: Tim Graham - Getty Images
Photo credit: Tim Graham - Getty Images

Update: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have named their daughter Lilibet (or Lili for short), as a sweet tribute to Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. This story, written after Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021, explains the origins of the Queen's childhood nickname...

The world watched on 17th April 2021 as the Queen bid goodbye to Prince Philip, her husband of 73 years.

The funeral for the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on 9th April at the age of 99, was attended by a small group of 30 members of the royal family, including Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, along with others.

Royal photographer Arthur Edwards, who has travelled with the royal family for nearly four decades, pointed out in a piece for The Sun about Prince Philip’s funeral, that the sad occasion also signalled another milestone – he was the last of the royals to call the Queen by her childhood name, 'Lilibet'.

The nickname goes back to when the Queen was too young to pronounce her own name, calling herself ‘Lilibet’ instead. As a young royal she would sign letters using the shortened version of Elizabeth.

In one thank you note to her grandmother, Queen Mary, she wrote: ‘Darling Granny. Thank you very much for the lovely doll's house. I do love it, and I have unpacked the dining room and the hall. Love from Lilibet xxx.’

Her parents and grandparents also took up the nickname, with her father, King George VI, once saying: ‘Lilibet is my pride. Margaret is my joy.’

Although Prince Philip also used the name affectionately, no one else in the royal family calls the Queen Lilibet, meaning it would have no longer been used.

But with the birth of Harry and Meghan's daughter, Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, on Friday (4th June) the name will live on in the royal family.

The Queen’s family do have other sweet names for her, with Prince Charles calling her ‘mummy’ and Prince William and Harry calling her ‘granny’.

The Duchess of Cambridge also revealed her eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte call their great grandmother ‘Gan-Gan’.

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