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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Reveal Why They Chose Tyler Perry as Daughter Lilibet’s Godparent

Promo Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reveal Why They Chose Tyler Perry as Daughter Lilibet Godparent
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The perfect pick! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have opened up about their decision to have Tyler Perry be daughter Lilibet’s godparent.

The couple, who also share son Archie, originally revealed that Perry took on the role while taping their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan. At the time, the Madea star admitted he was apprehensive about accepting the offer.

Royal Family- Get to Know the Next Generation 379

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“We’ll call [and] we’ll chat, and we’ll talk about silly things and they were pretty serious on the phone. I go, ‘OK, what’s going on?’ They said, ‘Well, we’d like for you to be Lili’s godfather.’ I go, ‘Whoa.’ I had to take a minute to take that in,” Perry, recalled in the sixth episode of the special, which dropped in December 2022.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reveal Why They Chose Tyler Perry as Daughter Lilibet Godparent
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Shutterstock

The film producer noted that he was “honored” to receive the request from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. “And I got off the phone, took it all in and then called them back. I go, ‘Uh, hold on a second. Does this mean we got to go over there and do all of that in the church with [the royal family] and figure all that out? I don’t want to do that. Maybe we can do a little private ceremony here and let that be that, and if you have to do it there, then that’s OK,'” he added.

Perry formed a close bond with Harry and Meghan when he offered his Los Angeles residence to the pair in 2020 amid their royal exit. After leaving the U.K. for Canada, Harry and Meghan settled down in California ahead of their daughter’s arrival.

The duo announced their baby girl’s birth in June 2021. “It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor to the world,” read a statement on their Archewell website. “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 in Santa Barbara, CA.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reveal Why They Chose Tyler Perry as Daughter Lilibet Godparent 2
Tyler Perry John Salangsang/Shutterstock

The statement continued: “On June 4th, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili. She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”

At the time, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Archie had already given his little sister “lots of kisses” and “held her with the help of his parents.” The insider added, “He’s such a kind, loving child and there aren’t any jealousy issues.”

Archie, for his part, arrived in May 2019 and the names of his godmother and godfather were kept private during his christening two months later. This was “in keeping with their wishes,” Buckingham Palace explained in a July 2019 statement.

In January 2020, Us confirmed Archie’s godparents are Harry’s childhood nanny, Tiggy Pettifer, and his mentor Mark Dyer.

Meghan Markle with Harry and son Archie

Related: Everything Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Have Said About Raising Archie

Harry and Meghan announced their decision to step back from their duties as senior royal family members that same month. They made their exit permanent in February 2021.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reveal Why They Chose Tyler Perry as Daughter Lilibet Godparent 3
Lilibet and Meghan Markle Netflix

The pair’s departure came less than one week after they announced that baby No. 2 was on the way, debuting the former actress’ baby bump. Her husband shared the little one’s sex in a March CBS interview, gushing, “Just to have a boy and a girl, what more can we ask for? We’ve got our family. We’ve got, you know, the four of us and our two dogs, and it’s great.”

The Spare author later offered an update on watching his children grow up. During an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in January 2023, Harry joked that he didn’t expect his kids to bear such a resemblance to him.

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“I actually really thought in the beginning of my relationship, should this go the distance and we have kids, there is no way the ginger gene will stand up to my wife’s genes,” he quipped, before noting that his little ones “definitely” take after his mother, Princess Diana, as well.

According to the BetterUp CIO, he sees “a lot of” the late Princess of Wales in his youngest. “I think, at the moment, I see a lot of my wife in [Archie],” he added. “The Spencer gene is very, very strong [though]. The ginger gene is a strong one.”

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