Princess Diana called her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, by adorable nicknames when they were growing up. Her youngest, Harry, was given the moniker “Good King Harry” and a royal commentator has suggested there’s a hidden meaning behind the touching nickname.
Speaking on behalf of Slingo, Charles Rae revealed that the Princess would refer to her youngest son simply as GKH, as she believed “he would have been better equipped for the role as a future king.”
The royal expert explained that the young Prince’s affectionate pet name was “used to make Harry feel that extra special.”
Prince William was also given a nickname by Princess Diana when he was growing up. “Both she and Charles referred to Willam as Wombat when he was much younger. It was given to him by Diana”, Mr Rae said.
This follows revelations in Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir, Spare, that he used to call the Prince of Wales, “Willy” and in turn was referred to as “Harold” by his brother.
Mr Rae, who authored The People’s Princess, noted that Prince William referring to him calling his younger brother Harold made little sense, given that Harry is not his real name.
“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.”
According to Mr Rae, Meghan Markle often refers to her husband as “H or Haz”, whilst his friends refer to the Duke of Sussex as “spike”.
Prince Harry and Prince William aren’t the only notable royals to have nicknames, however. The veteran royal reporter also said Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles and the Queen Consort have all been referred to by affectionate names.
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Queen Elizabeth used to be called “the Queen Cabbage” by Prince Philip, says Mr Rae, “while her grandchildren and great grandchildren called her Gan Gan.”
“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.”
