“No way !” : what is really behind the categorical refusal of Elizabeth II to take a picture with her great-granddaughter Lilibet

It was 96-year-old Elizabeth’s long-awaited first meeting with her youngest great-granddaughter. Baby Lilibet Diana received an unusual name in honor of the childhood nickname of the queen, she turned one year old that day – in a word, everyone was sure to see a beautiful portrait of two Lilibets, which presented themselves behind the closed doors of the palace, away from prying eyes.

But, to the dismay of the public, and in particular of Harry and Meghan, the queen refused to take the photo. As eyewitnesses testified, she responded to the proposition “No way!”. Sounds unexpected and even rude, doesn’t it?

However, it turned out that the context of the sentence and the whole situation was completely different.

As you know, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the reign, the health of Elizabeth II deteriorated significantly. Her Majesty even canceled many important meetings and, for the third time in her life, refused to open the session of Parliament – Prince Charles did it for her. The Queen did not want to miss the meeting with Lilibet in any way, however, as royal expert Camilla Tomini revealed in her column for The Telegraph, Elizabeth was suffering the consequences of a heavy pressure attack that day. She had a ruptured conjunctival vessel and one eye was filled with blood.

The queen was unhappy with her appearance, and the retort “No way!” is related to this. She didn’t want to be captured on a memorable day sick, unhappy and traumatized.

Moreover, his advisers felt that any photos from the private meeting could set a dangerous precedent if leaked to US media, with which the Sussexes have business ties.

It is said that Prince Harry has arranged with his grandmother for the two Lilibets to have an official joint photo – as soon as a more favorable moment arises for this.