Was This Really What Prince Charles Called Meghan Markle?

Despite all of the royal family drama, it seems that Prince Charles and Meghan Markle share a pretty great relationship. According to authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Meghan has a lot of respect for Charles. 

In their 2020 "Finding Freedom" biography, centered around Prince Harry's departure from the royal family, a friend of Meghan's said that she saw Charles as a "second father." They also claim that Meghan "found such a supportive and loving father in Charles, which has really changed her life for the better" (via Town & Country). Meanwhile, according to Charles' friend, the Prince of Wales became quite fond of Meghan. "She's a sassy, confident beautiful American. He likes very strong, confident women," the source says. "She's bright and she's self-aware, and I can see why they've struck up a very quick friendship." 

According to the same biography, Charles loves people who are into the arts, so Meghan's past career as an artist may have gained her even more cool points in his eyes. "Meghan ticks the boxes," the source continued. "Most of all, she's married to [Charles'] beloved youngest son and made him whole. Charles takes enormous delight and pleasure in that." So, it's safe to assume Charles has a lot of respect for Meghan, too. 

And according to royal expert Russell Myers, Charles even has a special nickname for her.

As Russell Myers revealed to Lorraine Kelly in 2019, Prince Charles has a special nickname for Meghan Markle. "They really developed this strong bond. He's even got a nickname for her," he told Kelly (via Express). And the name is "tungsten," like the metal. According to Myers, Charles gave her the nickname after he witnessed her deal with all the press surrounding her wedding to Prince Harry. Per Mead Metals, tungsten is the strongest natural metal on the planet. 

"He's been calling her tungsten, the metal, because she is tough and unbending. It's a bit of a weird one but I think he really respects her," Myers continued. "He thinks she has managed to deal with it well. He has had his fair share of bad press in the past, a lot of crisis in his life, so I think he's trying to get her to navigate the choppy waters of joining the Royal Family." He continued, "That sort of bonding between them is really nice to see because she hasn't had it easy, has she?" Indeed. 

As you may recall, members of the royal staff gave Meghan the unflattering nickname of "Duchess Difficult," because they found her to be too demanding. But we like Charles' affectionate moniker for Meghan much more!