King Charles has become grandfather to five children since 2013 – Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Archie, and Princess Lillibet. And its clear the monarch has a very tight bond, especially with the Wales children, who have a very sweet but formal nickname for him.
In writing in the Daily Mail, Royal author Robert Hardman revealed that the trio – Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis – refer to King Charles as ‘Grandpa Wales’.
The nickname is a nod to his previous title, HRH the Prince of Wales, now held by Prince William.
Poignantly, the moniker is reminiscent of the nickname given by the late Queen Elizabeth to her grandfather, King George V: ‘Grandpa England’.
It speaks to a precious relationship between King Charles and his grandchildren, which has been observed in photos of public appearances.
Mr Hardman elaborated on the closeness between the monarch and his eldest son’s family: “He [Charles] increasingly consults the [William] in all major family decisions.”
He speculated that the King hopes to see the Cambridge children follow in his footsteps, discussing “his hopes that, while his sons have created new charity networks, one of his grandchildren — maybe George — will one day take on the stewardship of his own”.
Evidently, the grandfather role is one that Charles takes as seriously as his monarchical duties. He previously said: “It’s a different part of your life.
“The great thing is to encourage them. Show them things to take their interest.
He said: “My grandmother did that, she was wonderful.” The family are very familiar with adorable nicknames.
As a toddler, Prince George referred to the late Queen Elizabeth – his great-grandmother – as ‘Gan-Gan’, whilst Prince William has had the unique title of ‘Wombat’ since the age of two.
On the quirky nickname, William said in a 2007 interview with NBC: “I can’t get rid of it now. It began when I was two. I’ve been rightfully told because I can’t remember back that far, but when we went to Australia with our parents, and the wombat, you know, that’s the local animal, so I just basically got called that, not because I look like a wombat, or maybe I do.”
