The meaning behind King Charles' 'weird' nickname for Meghan

From "wombat, to "bean" to "Gary", the royal family has a lot of nicknames for each other, each with a lot of meaning. The meaning behind King Charles' peculiar moniker for his daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, has also been affirmed by royal expert Katie Nicholl in her new book The New Royals.

"Charles reportedly nicknamed his future daughter-in-law 'Tungsten' because of her toughness and resilience," writes Nicholl.

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"Tungsten is known as one of the toughest things found in nature. It is super dense and almost impossible to melt," according to Live Science.

This is not the first time the nickname has been mentioned in the media. In 2018, the Daily Mail reported that, "Prince Charles admires Meghan for her strength and the backbone she gives Harry, who needs a tungsten-type figure in his life as he can be a bit of a softy," according to a source.

"It's become a term of endearment."

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Royal news editor Russell Meyers also spoke about the nickname in a 2019 talk show appearance on Lorraine.

He mentioned that metal is "tough and unbending", similar to the Duchess of Sussex's demeanour as she navigated royal life.

"It's a bit of a weird one but I think he really respects her," Meyers said, "He thinks she has managed to deal with [the media coverage] well."