Meghan Markle Just Gave Birth to a Baby Girl

Meghan and Harry are officially parents of two! The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the birth of their daughter, Lilibet "Lili" Diana. Meghan Markle gave birth to a baby girl on Friday, June 4. The couple announced their big news via their Archewell Foundation website early that morning.

"It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world," reads the announcement. "Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital." The youngest member of the royal family weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and the statement confirmed that both Meghan and Lili are "healthy and well, and settling in at home."

The newborn's name is a sweet nod to two significant women in the couple's lives. According to the official announcement, "Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet." Lili's middle name, Diana, of course, is a nod to Prince Harry's late mother, Princess Diana.

"The Duke and Duchess thank you for your warm wishes and prayers as they enjoy this special time as a family," closed the statement. The birth of their second child comes after a tumultuous year and a half for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, during which they took a step back from the Royal Family, launched a series of new projects, and settled into a new home in California.

The couple shocked the world on January 9, 2020, when they announced their decision to step down as senior members of the Royal Family. “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year is starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” Meghan and Harry wrote in a statement at the time.

They also shared their intentions to split their time between the United Kingdom and North America. "This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity," they wrote. A few months later, the family officially moved to Santa Barbara to start their new chapter and work towards their goal of becoming "financially independent” from the Royal Family.

In November of 2020, Meghan shared in a personal essay for The New York Times that she had suffered a miscarriage earlier in the year. “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” she wrote in the heartbreaking piece.

After a year of challenges, some good news arrived at last for the royal couple: On Valentine's Day, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were expecting their second child. The news was accompanied by a sweet black and white photo taken by photographer Misan Harriman. "We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother,” Meghan and Harry shared in a statement.

As Meghan and Harry prepared for the birth of their child, they also grappled with rumors of growing tensions between the couple and the Royal Family. On March 7, 2021, they sat down for a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey and spoke honestly about some of the issues that had plagued the first years of their marriage.

Meghan shared details about incidents of racism that she experienced with the British tabloids and within the institution of the Royal Family itself. She also spoke candidly of how the ordeal affected her mental health, and how she was denied help from the palace’s HR department because she wasn’t a “paid employee of the institution.”

However, the interview also marked a cause for celebration. The royal couple revealed the gender of their second child, telling Oprah that they were expecting a baby girl.

“To have a boy and then a girl, what more could you ask for?” said Harry.