The royal family have a lot of nicknames for each other

It turns out Queen Elizabeth II had a nickname that only those in her inner circle were ever allowed to call her – and it was quite odd.

Over the years the queen has had numerous nicknames in the public light. Se even influenced the name of her great-granddaughter Lilibet – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter. But while she was known as Queen Elizabeth to us, behind closed doors she had a whole different nickname.

One of the people who were close enough to Queen Elizabeth to use the uncommon nickname was Lady Elizabeth Anson – known to those closest at Liza. Lady Elizabeth died five years ago at 79. But her previous conversations with author Sally Bedell Smith led to some royal books. And in her most recent words in The Times, she wrote about how Lady Elizabeth knew the queen under a different moniker.
The Queen’s friend had a private nickname for her (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Queen Elizabeth had nickname for close friends

Liza was the Queen’s confidante from the time of the monarch’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. It seems she and the Queen bonded while in private over the years.

Sally wrote in The Times about a conversation she and Liza had, two weeks before Prince Harry married Meghan Markle. Liza let slip what she used to call Her Majesty.

She wrote: “Liza had just heard from the Queen. ‘Number One Lady – I call her Jemima – says the jury is out on whether she likes Meghan. My Jemima is very worried. Harry is besotted and weak about women. We hope but don’t quite think she is in love. We think she engineered it all.”

Liza’s bond with the Queen was noted throughout the article, with Sally noting the Queen even invited Liza to a state dinner in the Netherlands in 2018. She had the opportunity to sit in The Queen’s box in Acscot, despite being ill at the time.

Sally wrote: “Liza remained on the job after a lung cancer diagnosis in June 2019. ‘I am working on Ascot’ she told me on June 16. ‘And I had a lovely talk with Jemima. I can sit in her box whenever I want and I have asked if I can put oxygen in her cupboards there’.”

Jemima, the unusual nickname for Queen Elizabeth typically means ‘Dove’. In Biblical references, Jemima was one of Job’s three daughters, known for their beauty. And over the years the name has been associated with purity, innocence and peace – which the dove symbolises. So while it’s not known why Lady Elizabeth used this term, it’s definitely one of adoration.
All members of the royal family have nicknames (Credit: SplashNews.com)

What other nicknames did the royal have?

Over the years, Queen Elizabeth II had many nicknames. One many fans knew of, was ‘Lilibet’. This stemmed from her childhood, when she would call herself it as she struggled to pronounce her actual name.

But away from this she was also affectionally known as ‘Gan-Gan’ by her grand and great-grandchildren. Or she was also known as ‘Granny’.

However, her husband, Prince Philip, also reportedly called her ‘Cabbage’ – though the reason remains unknown.

Queen Elizabeth isn’t the only member of the royal family to have an affectionate and private nickname.