If you've read literally even one paragraph of Prince Harry's memoir Spare, you'll know that in private he refers to his brother Prince William as Willy, who in turn calls Harry "Harold."
This has apparently gotten people wondering what other nicknames the royals use for one another behind closed doors, and royal commentator Charles Rae was asked to reveal some of the insight he has about this. TBH, there are some pretty juicy tidbits.
"Both [Princess Diana] and Charles referred to Willam as Wombat when he was much younger. It was given to him by Diana," Rae tells Marie Claire on behalf of Slingo, commenting on the known nicknames for both William and Harry.
"When attending the Chelsea Flower Show in 2016, his wife Catherine was also overheard calling him Babe.
"Diana dubbed Harry GKH (Good King Harry) because she thought he would have been better equipped for the role as a future king. It was also used to make Harry feel that extra special." Wait, whaaat???
Anywho, Rae apparently didn't know about the brothers' nicknames for each other before Spare was published.
"These nicknames are revealed in Spare and are completely new," he says. "Willy is pretty straightforward, but Harold is a mystery as Harry’s correct name is Henry. I suspect it was William just having a little bit of fun with Harry."
Clearly, Rae has never interacted with the contingent of Harry Styles superfans who refer to him as Harold (it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me).
I'm also kind of obsessed with the wealth of nicknames Queen Elizabeth II was bestowed with throughout her lifetime.
"Prince Philip used to call the Queen Cabbage, while her grandchildren and great grandchildren called her Gan Gan," Rae says.
"For a time she was called Gary by a very young Prince William, as he had difficulty pronouncing grandma.
"The Queen’s pet name was Lilibet and was constantly used by Prince Philip. Of course, Harry and Meghan’s daughter was christened Lilibet in her honor. Lilibet came about because the future Queen could not pronounce her name, Elizabeth."
So good.
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