King Charles III’s nickname for his daughter-in-law Meghan Markle has been revealed, proving the level of respect and adoration he once had for the Duchess.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl reveals in her book The New Royals that the monarch called the Duchess of Sussex “Tungsten”, which is a hard steel-grey metal that has the highest melting point of all metallic elements.
“Charles reportedly nicknamed his future daughter-in-law ‘Tungsten’ because of her toughness and resilience,” Nicholl writes.
Nicholl said that the nickname was born when Meghan showed a display of unwavering poise and resilience her and Prince Harry’s appearance with Prince William and Kate Middleton at the Royal Foundation Forum in 2018.
“It was, according to one aide, the moment William and Kate, who was heavily pregnant, realised they needed to up their game,” Nicholl writes.
“The Cambridges [now the Prince and Princess of Wales] had already signalled their intention to be more than ‘ornamental royals’ and had, along with Harry, made a huge success of their mental health campaign Heads Together.”
“But Meghan was the breakout star of the foursome. She was polished, passionate and funny, using all her TV-honed skills to present her case. That was a wake-up moment for William and Kate when they realised that Meghan was very impressive, very confident and very capable, according to a source.”
While Charles may have used the term of endearment four years ago, it’s unclear whether he still calls Markle the nickname after she and Harry resigned from their royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where they reside with their two kids, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one.
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This article first appeared on OverSixty.