‘You don’t put words in the mouth of the Queen’: Robert Hardman on his revelation that Harry and Meghan angered Her Majesty over naming of baby Lilibet as he joins the Mail’s YouTube talk show The Reaction

The row over Harry and Meghan naming their daughter Lilibet shows that you ‘don’t put words in the Queen’s mouth’, Robert Hardman has said.

Speaking to Mail columnists Sarah Vine and Andrew Pierce on their new talk show, the esteemed royal author addressed the furor over the naming of the Duke and Duchess’ daughter Lilibet.

Earlier this week, the Mail released its exclusive serialization of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story revealed the Queen had been left infuriated by the war of words following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to give their daughter her childhood nickname.

In it, he quotes a former member of the late monarch’s staff who said Her Majesty was “as angry as I’d ever seen her” after the Sussexes claimed she “supported” their decision to use the name.

Speaking on the latest show – now available on YouTube – Hardman said: ‘The Queen adored Harry, Harry adored the Queen. She was lucky enough to meet Lillibet and clearly adored her – that’s not the problem.

Sarah Vine concludes that the Sussexes could have been more respectful to the late queen by using her childhood nickname, Lilibet, as her middle name instead.

‘At the heart of this is the way the release of the name was handled – the fact that the couple said the Queen was very supportive of their decision.’

Hardman notes that after the BBC reported that the Queen had not been asked, the couple resorted to lawyers and fired off legal notices – only to suddenly call it quits.

He added: ‘The Palace was not prepared to endorse their version of events and in that situation they had no other option but to withdraw.

‘What I discovered in my research is that you don’t actually put words in the queen’s mouth.

“As I say in the book, it’s a case of ‘memories may vary’.”

Vine concludes that the Sussexes could have been more respectful to the late queen by using her childhood nickname, Lilibet, as her middle name instead.

She added: “I don’t think it’s a problem in itself, but when you add it to everything else.

“All the other problems they’ve had, all the things they’ve said about the royal family, the documentary, the accusations of racism.”

Vine also questions why the couple chose this name, given their decision to leave the royal family.

She notes: ‘They left expressly because they didn’t want to be part of the royal family, they didn’t want to do what royals have to do.

‘And then calling their daughter that seems so contradictory to many people.’

Hardman agrees: “It seems like making that decision, by adopting that name, invited a whole host of issues that simply wouldn’t have applied with any other name.

‘They consider this an extremely personal matter, the naming of an adored daughter, I understand all that.

“But if you are going to appropriate a unique royal name – there is only one Lillibet – then I think that carries the risk of a backlash.”

The trio also conclude that King Charles has remained ‘steadfast’ in the face of every challenge thrown at him during his reign so far.

‘He is absolutely rock solid, he has not been questioned. He is seen as a king who is steadfast and has had a very good start. There have been no royal crises, at least not of his own making,” Hardman said.

The Mail’s exclusive serialization of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story revealed the Queen was left enraged by the war of words following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to give their daughter her childhood nickname

Launched last week, The Reaction is a new YouTube talk show where The Mail’s star writers share their insights and views on the biggest topics of the day – no matter how controversial.

In the second episode, Vine and Pierce also discuss what’s going wrong with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he dealt with a Tory uprising over Rwanda’s asylum law.

Pierce asks: “It’s been another tough week for Rishi Sunak, who looks like he’s fighting for his premiership again. Do the Tories have a death wish?’

Vine interjects: ‘The problem with the Tory party, and it’s not recent, it’s historic and has been going on for years and years, is that they always end up fighting each other like rats in a poke.

‘Rishi Sunak must get his party under control.’

They also discuss the “nuclear” response to Donald Trump’s victory in the first Republican caucuses in Iowa this week, which puts the former president one step closer to a return to the White House.

Pierce said, “I’ve never been Donald Trump’s biggest fan, but look at the alternative: shady old Joe Biden who clearly has cognitive issues… he’s a disaster, I don’t want him anywhere near the nuclear button. ‘

But Vine suggests Trump won’t come without problems, adding: “I just think he needs to stop acting like such a huge baby, he needs to take this seriously.” America needs a serious, competent president and I think Trump can be just that if he stops being such a disgusting populist.”

The Reaction is recorded in the Daily Mail’s new state-of-the-art studios in its West London offices and airs on the Daily Mail YouTube channel every Wednesday at 5pm.

The second episode can be viewed at YouTube.com/DailyMail