Prince Harry, Meghan wage war on BBC over 'false and defamatory' article

Only a few days after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle introduced their daughter to the world and announced that they honoured Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana by naming her Lilibet Diana, the couple has now waged a war on BBC for 'falsely' reporting that the monarch wasn't asked before they chose to name their second child after her.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex issued a statement and introduced their daughter Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California.

According to the couple, their daughter's name was a way to honour Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, who is known as Lilibet by her family since childhood.

Royal experts have since then been commenting that the name selection is a way for Harry and Meghan to make peace with the royals, after their back-to-back public attacks against the Firm, first in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, and later in multiple interviews including Apple TV+ docuseries about mental health where the duke accused the royal family of 'total neglect' towards him.

It was reported by BBC on Wednesday that the couple did not seek permission from the monarch before they selected the name. The claims by the outlet have been shot down by the couple who termed the article 'false and defamatory'.

"During that conversation, he (Harry) shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour," their spokesperson said. "Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name."

Lawyers for the duke and duchess have now sent a letter to some media organisations, saying the BBC article was false and defamatory, and the allegations should not be repeated. Contacted by Reuters, the BBC had no immediate response to the letter.

Buckingham Palace said it had no comment on the matter. Publicly, the queen has issued a statement to say she was delighted about the birth, as did Harry's elder brother Prince William and his wife Kate, whose relationship with the couple has also deteriorated.