Meghan Markle has revealed the heartwarming reason behind her one-word nickname for Prince Harry, explaining how they kept their relationship a secret by referring to each other in “code”
Meghan Markle has opened up on the meaning behind her one-letter nickname for Prince Harry – and it has a heartwarming connection to the beginnings of their relationship.
Over the years royal fans have noticed how the Duchess of Sussex has often referred to Prince Harry using a sweet pet name made up of just one letter. Back in 2019, Meghan, 43, first let slip that she referred to her husband simply by the letter ‘H’ while on an official royal tour of Southern Africa during an interview with ITV. Three years later, the nickname resurfaced during the pair’s six-part Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan.
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And now, during an appearance on The Jamie Kern Lima show podcast, Meghan has revealed the reason she refers to her husband using one initial. “Your close friends and family, so many of them call you ‘M’ and Harry ‘H’. How did that start? And tell me about that,” asked host Jamie.
In response, the Duchess of Sussex explained that its origins are rooted in the early days of her relationship with Prince Harry. Before the pair’s romance was made public, Meghan and Prince Harry used “code” to keep things under wraps, with this extending to how they referred to one another too.
“Probably at the beginning of us dating, when everything was in code. People didn’t know we were dating for, talk about memory lane, so long ago. I mean, it’ll be our seven-year wedding anniversary soon. I couldn’t tell anyone who I was dating, and who was keeping [the secret], so I think we were just on a letter basis,” she said.
However, what began as a way of keeping their relationship a secret soon became the norm and “it stuck”. Now they’ll use the nicknames even when they’re with friends or on a playdate with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. “I like it. I love nicknames,” added Meghan.
As well as ‘H’, Meghan has previously revealed that she has Prince Harry listed on her phone as ‘Prince Haz’, a name he was known by to the friend who originally set them up. However, Harry has made it clear that the nickname ‘Haz’ is reserved for Meghan alone, with him once jokingly telling James Corden not to use it.
During an appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden in 2021, James joked: “Haz? I didn’t know we were calling you ‘Haz’ now.” In response, Harry laughed: “You’re not my wife.”
Prince Harry’s name itself is even a nickname. When he was born in 1984 he was christened Henry Charles Albert David, though many royal fans have only recently made the discovery.
“PRINCE HARRYS REAL NAME IS HENRY?? wtf,” one person wrote on X. “PRINCE HARRYS REAL NAME IS H E N R Y?,” said another.
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