Prince William called his grandma the late Queen ‘Gary’ for this adorable reason

The Royal Family are big fans of nicknames

The Queen, Prince William and Prince Harry
(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

A young Prince William accidentally gave his grandma, the late Queen, the unique nickname of ‘Gary’ for an adorable reason.


Names are incredibly important in the Royal Family. From actual names, such as Prince Louis who was named after the Royal Family's 'secret weapon,' Princess Lilibet who was called as such to honour the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Archie, whose name surprised everyone as he was expected to be called Arthur, Albert or Alexander. 

There's also the names and titles that royals take on as they climb up the royal line of succession with many people already speculating not only what titles Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will hold when their dad becomes King, but also what Prince George will be known as when he eventually takes to the throne

But behind closed doors, there are some brilliant nicknames that The Royal Family go by. Prince William calls his brother Harry 'Harold' while Meghan Markle refers to her husband simply as 'H' and even the Royal Family itself has a nickname, The Firm

But the strangest nickname of all the royal names? Prince William calling the Queen 'Gary.'

The Royal Family

(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

The nickname was first documented by reports in The Daily Mail. According to a column written when Prince William was younger, a guest who was visiting Buckingham Palace was left confused when the young Prince called out for 'Gary' after tripping over.

The column shared, “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'."

While the nickname was an accident on Prince William's part, he soon grew up to be called many odd and seemingly random names by various members of his family. The funniest one though, was his mother, Princess Diana's, name for him.

In 1983, William joined his parents for his first ever royal tour, Diana revealed that she had started calling him 'Wombat'.

In 2007, William shared that the name had stuck. He told NBC, "I can’t get rid of it now. 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 Royal Family

(Image credit: Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images)

Kate Middleton also appears to be a fan of nicknames and reportedly calls her husband both 'baldy' and 'big willy,' according to The Sun. However, in public, she has been overheard using sweet names when talking to him such as 'babe' and 'darling.'

With his own assigned nicknames, William isn't afriad to throw some back at his wife and get in on the joke. Tom Quinn, author of Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family told Fox News Digital that William calls his wife 'Duchess of Doolittle,' 'Babykins,' and 'darling.'

While the last two pet names are understandable, 'Duchess of Doolittle' sounds like an odd choice of nickname. But, according to Quinn, the name was inspired by a 'gentle dig' that Queen Elizabeth used to make at Kate, referencing the fact that she did not have a full-time career before she married William.

News writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.