Royal family waited 52 days to add Harry & Meghan’s daughter to line of succession

The royal family has finally decided to add Lilibet Diana to the line of succession, but why did it take so long?

Lilibet Diana
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Lilibet Diana

Relations between Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and the British monarchy have been turning sour for a while. The birth of their baby girl, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, initially seemed to be bridging the gap between the families, but this new detail reveals something else entirely.

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Has the Queen forgotten about Lilibet Diana?

Lilibet Diana may have been born on the other side of the world, but she—like her brother—is still very much a part of the British royal family. Her brother and cousins have been officially given that status as their names have been added to the list of succession on the royal family’s website.

On the list, the Prince of Wales, Charles, holds the number one spot, and he's followed by Prince William and his three children. Prince Harry is sixth in line to the throne, and his son Archie comes in at seventh place. Naturally, Lilibet Diana is supposed to be eighth in line but royal fanatics were quick to point out that despite being born on 4 June, Lilibet still didn’t have her name on the list of succession.

Correcting the blunder

Finally, the royal family decided to update the official list yesterday—a whopping 52 days after her birth. Now she stands in 8th place right after from her big brother. On Monday, Omid Scobie—royal editor of Harper’s Bazaar US—and close friend of Harry and Meghan tweeted the good news writing:

The line of succession on the @RoyalFamily website has just been updated to include the Sussexes’ second child: Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, who is eighth in line to the throne. She was born on June 4.
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Lilibet Omid Scobie @scobie
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