The British Royal Family’s Nicknames For Each Other

The public knows them by their official titles, but the members of the royal family don't always call each other by their full names. Just like any ordinary family, they give each other loving nicknames.

Queen Elizabeth

She nicknamed herself “Tillabet” and was called that when she was a little girl. As she grew up, the Queen’s friends and family eventually lovingly called her “Lilibet,” mimicking the way the young Elizabeth couldn’t pronounce her own name. The nickname still gets used to this day.

Her husband, Prince Philip, sometimes calls her “Cabbage.” In a scene in the 2006 movie “The Queen,” as Philip is about to get in bed, he tells his wife to “move over, cabbage.”

“I inquired in royal circles and was told on very good authority that that is what the duke sometimes calls the Queen,” the film’s screenwriter, Peter Morgan, tells The Times. “Yes, I’ve heard that is how he will sometimes refer to her,” confirmed the royal biographer, Robert Lacey.

She has been called “Gan-Gan” by her great-grandchild Prince George. As a little boy, Prince William couldn’t pronounce “grandma” properly and instead have called her “Gary.”

Prince William And Kate Middleton

When he was two years old, William went on a trip to Australia with his mother, Princess Diana. Apparently, Diana had given him the nickname “Wombat” after the Australian-native animal.

Back in his university days, he used the name “Steve” as undercover to avoid the press following him attending classes. His classmates might have known his identity but chose to go along with calling him a different name anyway.

He and his wife, Kate, call each other different endearing names. Once William was overheard to have called Kate “darling,” and “poppet” the day Prince George was born. Kate has also been overheard to have called her husband “babe.”

When Kate was a little girl, she used to have the nickname “Squeak,” after her pet guinea pig. Kate has explained that her sister, Pippa, had the nickname “Pip,” so she got to be called “Squeak.”

In her days in Marlborough College, before even meeting her future husband, Kate got called by her classmates “princess in waiting,” apparently because she used to carry around a picture of William in her wallet.

Prince Harry And Meghan Markle

Harry’s real name is Henry Charles Albert David, but he has always gone by “Harry.” He’s probably one of the only royals to get away with using their nickname instead of their birth name.

In his younger days, Harry had a secret Facebook account under the pseudonym Spike Wells. Later on, he had to delete the account as it posed security risks.

Harry has been overheard calling his wife, Meghan, “Meg.” Prince Charles reportedly gave Meghan the nickname “Tungsten,” after the metal, likening it to her “tough and unbending” personality. The Duchess of Sussex used to be called “Flower” by her mother, according to Meghan herself in her now-deleted lifestyle blog.