The Princess of Wales once let slip one of her royal code names when she stepped out to do some shopping but had accidentally forgotten to take her purse with her
The Princess of Wales had a secret code name that she once accidentally let slip.
Members of the British Royal Family, including the late Queen, King Charles and Queen Camilla , are known to use pseudonyms for security reasons. They also have sweet nicknames that are used between family members, including Harold, Willy, and Lilibet.
And back in 2010, while Prince William was working as a search and rescue pilot in Wales, Kate let slip one of her own ‘secret’ names. It occurred when the then-Duchess of Cambridge was out shopping for a wetsuit – but had forgotten her purse. When the shop owner, Dave Buckland, asked for her name to reserve the item, she simply responded: “Mrs Cambridge” – very different from her full royal title.
A friend later told the Mail on Sunday: “He was looking straight at her and actually commented that it was quite an unusual surname. He hadn’t a clue who she was. She just smiled and said she’d be back. He hasn’t lived it down since.”
Kate and William also reportedly also use other secret code names when on holiday. It has previously been claimed that William went by Danny Collins, while Kate chose Daphne Clark on one particular occasion, according to the Express. Both names share the initials DC, representing Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – the pair’s royal titles before they became Prince and Princess of Wales.
Prince George might have tried to keep it hush-hush, but back in 2019, he let slip a little secret nickname while out with his grandma, Carole Middleton. A lady was walking her dog when George came up to say hello to the pup, and she told The Sun all about it.
The woman 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. I don’t know why he calls himself Archie but kids often play with their names and I think it’s lovely.”
The late Queen had a famous pet name that stemmed from childhood – Lilibet. It came from the fact that when she was very small the late Queen found her name hard to pronounce correctly – and like many family nicknames it stuck firmly. Harry and Meghan also famously used it as the first name for their daughter.
But the late monarch also had a more unusual nickname – ‘Gary’. It was also born from a mispronunciation, this time by Prince William. When he was a child he is reported to have struggled to say Granny, instead only managing Gary, which then stuck around as a hilarious nickname for the monarch.
William’s son George reportedly referred to the late Queen ‘Gan-Gan’ for similar reasons starting when he was very young. Prince Philip also is said to have affectionately referred to his wife as ‘Cabbage’ and ‘Sausage’.
Of course, there is something else unusual about the royals’ monikers – they don’t have a surname. Neither William nor his brother Harry have surnames on their birth certificates; the future king is listed as ‘His Royal Highness William Arthur Philip Louis’.
Prior to his marriage to Princess Kate in 2011, William used ‘Wales’ as his surname, the name of his father’s title – the Prince of Wales. He went by William Wales at school, university and during his time in the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, and as an air ambulance pilot.
Following his wedding day, William was bestowed with the title Duke of Cambridge – and as such, that became the family’s surname, including the one used by Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at school.
But when his father Charles ascended the throne last year, William received the Prince of Wales title – and that meant another change.
In a similar vein, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice also use the surname ‘York’ in their professional careers after their father, the Duke of York.
It becomes more complicated still when it comes to Harry and Meghan’s children.
Archie and Lilibet were not senior enough to receive HRH titles – something Harry and Meghan also had to stop using after stepping down. This meant they used the surname used by royals who don’t have a title – Mountbatten-Windsor.
And, per the royal family’s website, “The [monarch]’s descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor.” As such, Archie and Lilibet were previously simply known as Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
However, once their grandfather Charles became king they were afforded the titles prince and princess – and Harry and Meghan now seem to have adopted ‘Sussex’ as their family surname.
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A version of this story was first published on 31 December 2023
