King Charles reportedly once had a striking nickname for Meghan Markle — one that revealed how he truly saw the Duchess of Sussex in her early days as a royal.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been at the center of public attention since stepping down as senior working royals in 2020. Though the couple have built a new life in California, they remain a constant topic of discussion in both the British press and international media.

The public rift between the Sussexes and the royal family first burst into view during their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. Harry and Meghan alleged that there had been conversations within the family about how dark their son Archie’s skin might be. Harry later clarified that neither Queen Elizabeth II nor Prince Philip had made the remarks, but the couple have never revealed who did.

Harry also criticized the royal family for failing to confront the “colonial undertones” in media coverage of Meghan, pointing out that while female MPs had spoken up in her defense, his own relatives had remained silent — something he said “hurt.”

Even before the Oprah interview, Harry had repeatedly condemned the press. In November 2016, shortly after their relationship became public, Kensington Palace issued a statement on his behalf denouncing the racial overtones in media reporting and the harassment Meghan faced. He described the treatment as dangerous, saying: “This is not a game — it is her life.”

That statement, however, caused tension within the family. In his memoir Spare, Harry claimed it angered both King Charles and Prince William, who felt it made them look uncaring for not defending their own wives in similar ways. The statement was still accessible on the palace website in early December 2023, but was quietly removed days later, with no explanation.

Despite today’s strained relations, there was once a warmer dynamic between Meghan and Charles. In the Sussexes’ Netflix series, Meghan recalled how the then-Prince of Wales walked her down the aisle at her 2018 wedding when her father could not attend. She described him as “very charming” and said his gesture meant the world to her.

Now, royal author Katie Nicholl has revealed that Charles even had a special nickname for his daughter-in-law in those early days. According to reports, he referred to Meghan as “Tungsten” — a nod to the metal known for its strength and resilience. The term was said to reflect his admiration for what he saw as her toughness and determination as she entered royal life.

Since then, the relationship between Meghan and the rest of the royal family has soured. Harry is believed to be trying to rebuild ties with his father following the King’s cancer diagnosis, but Meghan has remained wary of returning to the UK, citing past tensions.

Still, the revelation of Charles’s private nickname offers a glimpse into a moment when their relationship seemed much closer — and when the King viewed Meghan as a figure of remarkable inner strength.