PRINCE Harry revealed Kate Middleton’s hugely embarrassing nickname for William – during the best man’s speech at their wedding.
Although he was under strict orders from on/off girlfriend Chelsy Davy not to make his new sister-in-law self-conscious, Harry let slip that the royal couple had pet names for one another.
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Royal biographer Ingrid Seward says Harry revealed that while William called Kate ‘Babykins’, she referred to him as the rather more spicy ‘Big Willy.
It comes as:
- Prince William ‘can’t tolerate’ how Meghan has treated Kate Middleton, a senior royal source claimed
- Kate got the giggles as she and William played golf on a royal visit today
- Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are looking for a new employee as they take on greater responsibility
- Harry and Meghan may be ‘cut’ from the Royal Family in Prince Charles’ plan to save cash
- And the LA-based royal couple reportedly met a streaming firm at Kensington Palace a year before Megxit – but rejected the bizarre show
The hilarious anecdote was revealed Wills and Kate prepare to mark their tenth wedding anniversary this week.
And Ingrid said that, on savvy Chelsy’s advice, Harry dropped a reference to Kate’s “killer legs” from the final edit of his speech.
“Apparently, Harry had a joke from when William first brought Kate home,” Ingrid said.
“He gave her the thumbs up because she had such a great pair of pins.”
Despite dropping the gag for the speech, Harry didn’t entirely let his brother off the hook.
He told guests: “William didn’t have a romantic bone in his body before he met Kate, so I knew it was serious when he started cooing down the phone.”
And according to late-night revellers leaving the party, Harry then did a high-pitched impersonation of Kate calling William one of her favourite nicknames – ‘Big Willy – to much hilarity from the guests.
But Ingrid said Harry was always very fond of Kate, and believed she was the “big sister he’d never had”.
Kate, for her part, enjoyed a great friendship with her brother-in-law that deepened when she had children with William.
Harry was a frequent guest at the couple’s home and much-loved by his niece and nephews.
“When Prince George was born in July 2013, he was so excited to be an uncle he smuggled his then-girlfriend, actress Cressida Bonas, into Kensington Palace under a blanket in the back of a car so she too could meet his new nephew,” Ingrid said.
Elsewhere, Harry was the first person William told about his plan to propose to Kate in a remote lodge in Kenya, which is only accessible by helicopter.
And Harry joked that William should have a bottle of Champagne on hand for when she said yes – and a bottle of brandy in the event she said no, Ingrid says.
Seeming rifts between William, Kate and Harry began when Wills allegedly warned his younger brother against moving too fast with Meghan Markle.
According to biography Finding Freedom, William said: “Don’t feel you need to rush this.
“Take as much as time as you need to get to know this girl.”
The book’s authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand said the phrase “the girl” immediately irritated Harry, who was “p***ed off” that his brother “would ask such a thing”.
For his part, Harry fell deeply in love with Meghan very quickly, and said he knew she was “special” on their second date.
He told James Cordon during an interview earlier this year that “everything was done back to front” due his royal status, which meant cosy nights in rather than attending glitzy dinners.
He said: “Rather than going to friends’ houses or out for dinner where there were other distractions [we had] no distractions. It was great.
“We went from zero to 60 in the first two months.”
Pregnant Meghan remained at home in LA when Harry returned to the UK for his grandfather’s funeral earlier this month after taking doctors’ advice.
Photos show Harry speaking with Kate and William briefly after the service.
And he’s also said to have spent time with his father and the Queen during his stay.
But a planned visit to the UK in the summer for the unveiling of a statue dedicated to his late mother hangs in the balance, it’s claimed.
Royal experts claim he may make an “excuse” and stay home – as it’s thought Meghan will soon give birth to the couple’s second child, a daughter.
And Harry is said to have been “shocked” by the frosty reception he received from some family members upon his return.
Millions around the world will be hoping he can be reunited with his brother and sister-in-law soon.
