Meghan Markle admits to not sharing Lilibet and Archie’s names before birth

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is back with the last episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, where she interviews businesswomen about their journey to success.

In the latest episode of her podcast, she sits down with SPANX founder Sara Blakely and opens up about not only her venture, As ever, but also her experience as a mother.

You may also likeDuring the episode, Meghan notes that she found the process of naming her company to be quite similar to choosing a name for her children.

“It’s no different,” she tells Blakely, “I will say this to every woman in the world or every person in the world who’s going to have a child: if you have an idea about what you are going to name that baby, you keep it so close to your heart, until that baby is born and it’s named. Don’t ask anyone’s opinion.”

Meghan Markle tells her listeners to ignore other people’s opinionsOf course, it’s a bit different when you name your baby after their grandmother, but she happens to be the Queen of the United Kingdom.

At the time of Lilibet’s birth, in June 2021, Harry and Meghan affirmed that they had sought the late Queen’s approval before settling on the name, but many royal insiders disagreed.

Meghan, Harry and Her late Majesty in 2018Nicky Haslam, interior designer and Queen Camilla’s close friend, talking on The Third Act podcast in March 2022, said that Queen Elizabeth II was furious with the couple’s choice to use her childhood nickname as their daughter’s first name.

Author Robert Hardman also weighed in on the matter, writing in his book, ‘Charles III: New King, New Court’, that Her late Majesty was “as angry as I’d ever seen her” after the couple declared that she was aware and supportive of their decision.

Author Robert Hardman with Queen CamillaHowever, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s spokesperson at the time confirmed that “The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement – in fact, his grandmother was the first family member he called.”

“During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.”

Princess Lilibet Diana and her mom, Duchess Meghan, in their gardenGiven that this has always been their position, and there is no reason to doubt the truthfulness of their statement, we assume that Meghan made an exception for the late Queen when naming her second child.

As for her company’s name, some may recall As ever had previously been known as American Riviera Orchard, before the mother of two decided to adopt a simpler and more impactful name for her wholesome venture.

Meghan Markle in her behind-the-scenes videoEarlier this year, the Duchess took to Instagram to explain the change to her fans. In the video, addressed to her almost 3 million followers, she said: “Last year, I had thought, American Riviera, that sounds like such a great name.”

“It’s my neighbourhood; it’s a nickname for Santa Barbara, but it limited me to things that were just manufactured and grown in this area. So I thought about it, and I’ve been waiting for a moment to share a name that I had secured in 2022, and this is the moment, and it’s called As ever.”

Meghan Markle in her Instagram video”As ever essentially means as it’s always been, and if you’ve followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know I’ve always loved cooking and crafting and gardening: this is what I do.”

However, As ever may not be the only venture the American actress-turned-Duchess and entrepreneur is working on. Speaking to Fast Company, Meghan hinted that she might enter the fashion space in the near future.

As ever, we can’t wait to see what she has planned!

Words by Alessia Armenise