Princess Lilibet Diana, the daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was baptized last week in a ceremony at the couple’s home by Los Angeles Bishop John Harvey Taylor, the bishop confirmed in a March 8 post on Facebook after several national and international news outlets reported on the ceremony.
“On behalf of Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry, and at the invitation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, I had the blessing of presiding as the sacrament of Holy Baptism was conferred on their daughter,” Taylor shared, saying that the service took place March 3 at the couple’s home in Montecito, California.
“Prince Harry and Meghan were gracious hosts to the congregation of family and friends who were present,” Taylor said.
The couple stepped back from their royal duties and relocated to Southern California in 2020 amid fraying relations with the prince’s family, partly over their treatment of his wife, an American and former actress. Harry further detailed the rift with his father, King Charles III, and brother, Prince William, in the recently published bestseller “Spare.”
Married in the Church of England in May 2018, the couple asked The Episcopal Church’s presiding bishop to preach at their wedding in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. That sermon brought international attention to Curry’s Christian message of the power of love.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle listen to a sermon by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, primate of the Episcopal Church, in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle during their wedding service on May 19, 2018. Photo: Reuters
This month, the baptism of the couple’s 21-month-old daughter also marks the first time they have referred to her publicly by the title of princess, a distinction that was conferred when her grandfather assumed the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September. The christening was first reported by People. The couple also have a 3-year-old son, now known as Prince Archie.
There had been some uncertainty whether the two children would be referred to by royal titles, but Buckingham Palace confirmed to media outlets on March 8 that the royal website would be updated to reflect the titles of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
