The nickname King Charles gave Meghan Markle that showed his true feelings towards her
King Charles bestowed an unusual nickname onto Meghan Markle before she married his son Prince Harry, and it shows what he really thought of her character.
A royal biographer has revealed the strange nickname King Charles gave Meghan Markle.
King Charles is thought to have admired Meghan's strength of character and gave her a fitting nickname to reflect this.
From the royal grandchildren calling the late Queen 'Gan-Gan', to Kate Middleton calling Prince William 'baldy', the royal family nicknames are always a talking topic.
But King Charles's nickname for Meghan Markle is perhaps one of the most unique. In royal expert Katie Nicholl's book, The New Royals, she explains how Charles admired Meghan's 'tough' and 'strong' character - and gave her a fitting nickname.
She wrote in the book ahead of Meghan and Harry's wedding, "Charles reportedly nicknamed his future daughter-in-law 'Tungsten' because of her toughness and resilience."
King Charles was said to be 'blown away' by Meghan when Harry first introduced her to the royal family, and he even walked her down the aisle when she married Harry at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018.
And this isn't the first time Meghan's nickname has been reported. In June 2018, the Daily Mail wrote that Charles called Meghan 'Tungsten,' a type of metal because she is "tough and unbending."
A source told the publication at the time, "Prince Charles admires Meghan for her strength and the backbone she gives Harry, who needs a tungsten-type figure in his life as he can be a bit of a softy. It's become a term of endearment."
However, since Harry and Meghan stepped away from the royal family and started a new life in California in 2020, plus the release of Harry's controversial memoir, Spare, the couple's Netflix series and Oprah interview, their relationship with the royals has become estranged.
The late Queen also had a variety of nicknames, including 'sausage' and 'Lilibet' - which was the inspiration behind Harry and Meghan calling their daughter the same name.
But arguably the strangest nickname came from a young Prince William, who once accidentally called his grandmother 'Gary' instead of 'Gan-Gan.' The Daily Mail reported at the time, "A guest who went to help asked who Gary was, assuming it must be a member of the royal household. 'I'm Gary,' responded the Queen. 'He hasn't learned to say Granny yet.'"
Prince William has also had some comedic nicknames of his own over the years. In 1983, at 10 months old, he joined his parents on his first royal tour to Australia. Here, it was revealed that his mother Princess Diana had started calling him 'Wombat'.
In 2007, William admitted the nickname had stuck. "I can't get rid of it now," he said. "It began when I was two. I've been rightfully told because I can't remember back that far, but when we went to Australia with our parents, and the wombat, you know, that's the local animal, so I just basically got called that, not because I look like a wombat, or maybe I do."