Like any other family, the members of the royal family use nicknames for each other. Nicknames can be used to protect privacy, express intimacy and affection, lighten the mood, or be simply easier to say than real names.
The Queen has been known by nicknames including Gary, Cabbage, Gan-Gan and Lilibet. The late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, was frequently called Phil the Greek, Zorba and Stavros, due to his Greek heritage.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have had a series of nicknames for each other over the years. They certainly couldn't get away with using some of these today, reports The Mirror.
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According to The Sun, The Duchess of Cambridge used to use two hilarious nicknames for her husband, which were reported to be Baldy and Big Willy. Prince William is also said to have used the terms Babykins and DoD which stands for Duchess of Dolittle.
More recently, Kate and William were heard using more conservative pet names for one another. At The Chelsea Flower Show in 2016, the royal couple were heard calling each other "babe" and "darling."
Landscape gardener Charlie Albone told Grazia U.K. that when Prince William asked his wife about a plant she replied: “Babe, we’ve got those. We’ve got loads of those.” Another one of the designers at the show revealed to Hello! that the prince stopped to look at poppies and asked Kate: “Could you make one of these, darling?’”
But these are not the only nicknames that Prince William has had over the years. He went by a very different name at university to protect his privacy. While he was enrolled at St Andrew's under the name William Wales, he chose to go by Steve.
Steve isn't William's only nickname, as he was also known as Wombat by his mother. In an NBC interview in 2007, William admitted to being stuck with the name. “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.”
The couple have passed the nickname tradition onto their children, and they each have an adorable moniker. Prince George's former classmates at Thomas's School in Battersea are said to have called him PG, owing to his initials. This nickname is said to have spread to the Cambridge household, with his parents calling him both PG and Tips, after the famous British tea brand.
Whether this is a nickname or a strategy to protect his privacy, a member of the public told of the time she was walking her dog and came into contact with the young prince while he was playing near the Middleton family home in Berkshire. She said: “I was asked by a police minder not to take a photo of the children, which I didn’t, but George started stroking my dog.
"Just to be friendly, I engaged in a bit of small talk and I asked George what his name was, even though obviously I knew it. To my astonishment, he said, ‘I’m called Archie’, with a big smile on his face."
His younger sister, Princess Charlotte, also has an adorable pet name which her father was heard calling her as they visited the Chelsea Flower Show. The family had come to visit the Back to Nature garden designed by the Duchess of Cambridge and while playing on a swing in the garden, William called out to his daughter, asking her to come and give him a push.
But instead of saying Charlotte, he called for Mignonette. The French word is said to mean "small, sweet, and delicate" or "cute." Kate is said to call her daughter Lottie when they are at home.
The youngest Cambridge child also has a sweet pet name thanks to his elder siblings. According to The Express, Prince Louis has been called Lou-Lou by George and Charlotte ever since he was born.
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