King Charles and Meghan Markle once enjoyed a warm relationship during her time as a working royal. While it’s unclear how he feels today, it’s fair to assume the dynamic has shifted. Even so, the king once had a surprising nickname for her — one most people wouldn’t expect.

Charles’ Initial Reaction to Harry and Meghan’s Relationship

When Prince Harry first began dating Meghan Markle, King Charles — then Prince Charles — was reportedly caught off guard. According to royal experts Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand in their book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of the Modern Royal Family, Charles didn’t know his son was seeing Meghan until just 20 minutes before the news became public.

The authors wrote that Charles and his Clarence House team felt “crushed” by the sudden announcement of Harry’s new girlfriend.

Interestingly, their disappointment wasn’t necessarily personal. Instead, Charles worried the revelation would eclipse his own official work.

The then-Prince of Wales was preparing for an important diplomatic tour of the Middle East, and the surprise news threatened to overshadow it.

Fears the Relationship Announcement Would Dominate Headlines

Scobie and Durand explained: “It was a critical moment that had been in the works for months. A statement from Kensington Palace condemning the Press and, in the same breath, confirming Harry’s new girlfriend would all but eliminate coverage of Prince Charles’s tour of the Gulf.”