Harry and Meghan rarely share full pictures of kids’ faces after his trauma
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter Lilibet Diana is all set to celebrate her first birthday on Saturday June 4.
Though named after two famous figures – Queen Elizabeth and Diana, Princess of Wales, Harry's grandmother and late mother – baby Lilibet has been kept away from the limelight for most of her short life.
Harry and Meghan welcomed their second child after stepping down from Royal Family duties. And since her birth in 2021 the couple have released very few pictures of their only daughter.
Royal fans had to wait six months for the first official glimpse of Lilibet, which the Sussexes released in December 2021 for the holidays.
Why do Harry and Meghan rarely show Lilibet's face?
Typically, the public get a glimpse of royal babies just hours after they've born. Prince William and Kate Middleton followed the tradition with all three of their children, appearing on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital, just as Prince Charles and Princess Diana did before them.
However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not release on any updates on their first born son Archie after his birth, doing the same for Lilibet as well.
Royal expert Christopher Anderson, author of the 2001 book Diana’s Boys, explained: "As the littlest Sussexes get older they face the inevitable hounding by an intrusive paparazzi – photographers jumping out from behind bushes and parked cars and all that."
He added that Harry would want them to have a "normal childhood" and shield them from the trauma of the spotlight.
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Harry has previously been open about his mental health, blaming the loss of his mum and media intrusion for sending him into depression.
In his interview docuseries The Me You Can't See with Oprah Winfrey, Harry claimed he felt driven out of the Royal Family after being given no help or support with attacks on Meghan.
"Every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, to stop just got met with total silence or total neglect," he said.
"Towards my late 20s I was starting to ask questions of 'Should I really be here?' And that was when I suddenly started going, 'You can't keep hiding from this.'
"Family members have said 'just play the game and your life will be easier'. But I've got a hell of a lot of my mum in me.
"I feel as though I'm outside of the system but I'm still stuck there," he added. "The only way to free yourself and break out is to tell the truth."
Have the Sussexes released any pictures of Lilibet?
Harry and Meghan's daughter Lilibet to spend first birthday meeting her namesake the Queen
Since Harry and Meghan are not serving Royal Family members, there is less pressure on them to share information or photos of their children.
They have quite a strict privacy plan when it comes to pictures of their kids and have even sued a photo agency for using a drone to take snaps of Archie walking with Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland last year.
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Veteran paparazzo Giles Harrison told Daily Beast that Harry and Meghan's commitment to protect their children has left many photographers unwilling to take the risk of snapping them.
He warned: " If you get the pictures of them, they are gonna try and sue you no matter what happens, no matter where you were. And they can afford to sue you a lot more than you can afford to defend yourself."
The couple do occasionally share pictures of their children, whether it be a full family picture for the holidays or of Archie from his second birthday.
However, it's likely that until Archie and Lilibet reach an age when they can decide for themselves if they want to share more information, Harry and Meghan will guard their privacy as much as they can.
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