Revealed: Prince Philip’s stinging nickname for Meghan Markle – and the warning he gave Queen Elizabeth II about the Duchess

With the family surrounded by formal titles it’s unsurprising that the royals have a number of pet names for one another.

The late Queen Elizabeth II was affectionately referred to as Lillibet by members of the family. While Prince George calls his grandfather – King Charles III – ‘Grandpa Wales’.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are known to refer to each other as ‘Fred and Gladys’ the nicknames reportedly came from the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show.

Prince Philip lovingly referred to Elizabeth as ‘Cabbage’ which refers to the French phrase ‘mon petit chou’. In its literal translation, it means ‘my little cabbage’ but the French idiom is a way of saying ‘my darling’.

However, Philip saved perhaps the most stinging nickname for Meghan Markle.

Philip allegedly referred to Meghan as as DoW, short for Duchess of Windsor, in reference to the notorious Wallis Simpson whose relationship with King Edward VIII led to the abdication crisis.

According to royal insider Ingrid Seward, upon first meeting the future Duchess of Sussex, Queen Elizabeth not only approved of her but had hopes for what the American actress might be able to achieve with Harry for the youth of the Commonwealth.

However, Philip had a much more lukewarm first impression of Meghan.

Prince Philip looks towards Meghan Markle during her wedding in 2018. Philip reportedly had   lukewarm first impression of Meghan

Philip allegedly referred to Meghan as as DoW, short for Duchess of Windsor, in reference to the notorious Wallis Simpson whose relationship with King Edward VIII led to the abdication crisis

Philip with Meghan close behind at the 2017 Christmas Day service at Church of St Mary Magdalene

Seward wrote: ‘While the Queen continued to champion Harry’s new love, he warned his wife to be cautious. It was uncanny, he told her, how much Meghan reminded him of the Duchess of Windsor.

‘He wasn’t simply referring to the fact that both were pencil-slim, dark-haired and glamorous American divorcees.’

The Queen on the other hand had such faith in Meghan that, according to Seward, she ‘continued to champion her’ despite her husband Prince Philip’s warnings.

But Philip, having met Wallis on a number of occasions before he death in April 1986, perhaps sensed that Meghan could be similarly disruptive as the actual Duchess of Windsor.

In 1936, 82 years before Meghan married into the family, Wallis played a notorious role in the crisis when King Edward VIII abdicated after less than a year on the throne to marry the twice divorced American.

Meghan proved to be an equally troublesome force within the Royal Family when she and Prince Harry announced their decision ‘step back as “senior” members’ to become more financially independent and to enjoy more privacy from the prying eyes of the media.

Despite their wish for more privacy, Harry and Meghan invited even more intense scrutiny in the press when they sat down for a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.

Chatting in the sun-kissed garden of a Californian mansion – which turned out to be owned by a friend of Oprah’s – a heavily pregnant Meghan described her time in the Royal Family as a nightmare that she’d barely survived.

Prince Philip said it was uncanny how much Meghan (pictured right with Prince Harry in 2018) reminded him of the Duchess of Windsor Wallis Simpson (pictured with Edward in 1966)

Philip, having met Wallis on a number of occasions before her death in April 1986, perhaps sensed that Meghan (pictured with Harry in 2018) could be similarly disruptive as the actual Duchess of Windsor (pictured with Edward in 1942)

Philip and Queen Elizabeth II at Harry and Meghan’s wedding. The late Prince Philip lovingly referred to Elizabeth as ‘Cabbage’. This refers to the French phrase ‘mon petit chou’. The French idiom is a way of saying ‘my darling’

She related how she had to turn over her passport, driver’s licence, keys and other personal belongings when she moved into what she considered to be the cramped confines of Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace.

‘I left the house twice in four months,’ she told Oprah, adding, ‘I couldn’t feel lonelier.’

She recalled watching the Little Mermaid cartoon and relating to Ariel, the mermaid who exchanges her voice for legs in order to marry her prince.

‘She falls in love with a prince and because of that she loses her voice.’

Oprah asked the now famous question, ‘Were you silent or silenced?’

‘The latter,’ Meghan replied.

She claimed the situation had deteriorated to the point that she’d even contemplated suicide.

‘I didn’t want to be alive any more,’ she told Oprah. ‘It was a clear and real and frightening constant thought.’

Philip and Meghan at Princess Eugenie wedding in October 2018

Despite their wish for more privacy, Harry and Meghan invited even more intense scrutiny in the press when they sat down for a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021

Yet, Meghan alleged that Palace staff didn’t offer her help when she went to them begging for support even though she was then six months pregnant with Archie.

The other bombshell was the Sussexes’ suggestion that the Royal Family was collectively racist, pointing the finger at one – unnamed – member who, they alleged, had speculated about the colour of their son Archie’s skin when Meghan was pregnant.

‘When I was pregnant,’ Markle recalled that family members had, ‘concerns and conversations about how dark his skin would be when he was born. People were concerned with how dark Archie’s skin would be.’

A tense looking Harry confirmed this, saying he was the one who’d heard these comments and had told his wife.

Harry and Meghan said they would not reveal who made the comment, with Meghan saying, ‘I think that would be very damaging to them [to reveal].’

Yet later on – in particular when Harry published his memoir, Spare – this particular controversy appeared to have been forgotten.

Harry and Meghan alongside Charles and Camilla at the Queen’s funeral in September 2022. Charles called Meghan ‘Tungsten’ which he intended as a compliment

In response to the interview, the Royal Family said they were ‘saddened’ to learn how challenging the couple had found their time as working royals.

Philip was not the only member of the family who coined a nickname for the Duchess of Sussex.

Bizarrely the then Prince Charles christened Meghan ‘Tungsten’ because she is ‘tough’ and ‘unbending’.

While it might not appear like the most flattering of comparisons to be named after a type of metal, Charles intended it to be a compliment, and it stuck.

The royals have long called each other by nicknames privately, and the affectionate dubbing was reportedly a way for Charles, 76, to welcome Meghan, 43, into the family.

Tungsten was first used by Charles in the early days of Harry and Meghan’s life as working royals, according to the Mail On Sunday’s Charlotte Griffiths in June 2018.

A Palace source told her: ‘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.’

Tungsten is a metal that can be found on the periodic table and is known for its high melting point and core strength.

It is the strongest naturally occurring metal on the planet, so the name was regarded at the time as touching praise.

She was used to using nicknames already. Meghan wasn’t even her real first name after all, it was actually Rachel, but she more commonly used her middle name – going by Meg.