King Charles III Has a Secret Nickname for Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, broke away from their senior royal duties in January of 2020 after two years of intense publicity and “scrutiny” from the British media and tabloids. But when Meghan was first introduced to the family, it seemed, to her father-in-law at least, that she was up for the job.

According to a new book by Kati Nicholl titled “The New Royals,” King Charles III had a positive impression of Markle when he first met her. The new love interest of his son seemed prepared to handle whatever royal life could throw at her after her career as an actress trained her for living under the spotlight.

Harry and Meghan first announced their engagement in November of 2017, and by May of 2018 they were married. But before the couple said their “I do’s,” Charles III observed Meghan’s “toughness and resilience,” reportedly, and nicknamed the future duchess and daughter-in-law “Tungsten.”

Tungsten is a chemical element and a rare metal that is nearly impossible to melt. The metal, when beaten down into a fine powder, is combustible and can sometimes ignite spontaneously. The strong, durable metal is resistant to corrosion once it is made into compounds.

Nicholl writes that Charles III first noticed Meghan's strong demeanor during her first joint appearance with William, Prince of Wales and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales at the Royal Foundation Forum in 2018. Meghan and Prince Harry were engaged at the time of the interview, and Meghan, as she says in the clip, had only been in the United Kingdom for three months but was already prepared to show off her honed public speaking skills.

Her eloquent speaking skills, charm and humor in front of the cameras made her the “breakout star of the foursome,” wrote Nicholl.

“She was polished, passionate and funny, using all her TV-honed skills to present her case. That was a wake-up moment for William and Kate when they realized that Meghan was very impressive, very confident and very capable, according to a source,” she continued.

Meghan also reportedly helped patch up a somewhat broken relationship between Prince Harry and his father, which of course influenced the now-King’s first impression of her, while Meghan herself also had a positive first impression of her soon-to-be father-in-law, and told Prince Harry he was “welcoming, warm, hard-working, kind and stable,” a source told the Daily Mail.

But the relationship between Meghan, Prince Harry, and the rest of the senior royal family members deteriorated after Prince Harry and Meghan announced they were breaking away from their senior royal duties, moving across the pond to Los Angeles after a brief stint in Canada. The couple also gave up their Sovereign Grant to pursue “financial independence.”

The rift between Charles III’s two sons and their wives has shown no signs of healing. During Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, Prince Harry and the Duchess were seated away from William and Kate. The two ex-royals were also “uninvited” from a pre-funeral reception, and only realized they were snubbed by their family after reading about it in the press.