Prince George Has a Pretty Casual Nickname for Dad Prince William
Princess Charlotte has a sweet one she likes to use, too.
Prince William. The Duke of Cambridge. His Royal Highness. William has many titles that he goes by. But likely one of his favorites? Pops.
That’s apparently what William’s eldest son Prince George, who just turned nine last week, calls him, per PEOPLE. (William is also dad to Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.) As far back as 2018, William’s wife Kate Middleton told reporters that George—who would have been around five at the time—calls his dad by the casual moniker, and that likely Charlotte and Louis do as well, though only George’s use of the nickname was specifically mentioned.
According to Fiona Sturgess, who was in the crowd, on a visit to Leicester four years ago, “Kate said that William was playing football with the children last night, and one of them said, I think it was George, ‘Are you playing football tomorrow, Pops?’”
In addition to a striking physical resemblance, William and George share a close bond, PEOPLE reports. The outlet writes that William, second in line to the throne, is already teaching George, who is third in line, about royal life and preparing him for his own future as king someday. George has also honored one of his Pops’ favorite charitable causes, as news broke recently from Charlie Mayhew—chief executive of the charity Tusk, which works to protect endangered species in Africa (and of which William is a longtime supporter)—that George held a cake sale during the COVID-19 lockdown to raise money for the organization. William, as part of his ongoing work to protect the environment, has been a royal patron for Tusk since 2005, PEOPLE reports.
“George has also inherited a number of interests and hobbies from his father,” the outlet writes. “Like Prince William, Prince George is a big soccer fan and even got to tag along with his parents to the Euro 2020 tournament last summer, looking all grown up in a suit and tie for the games.” (He sported the same look this month for Wimbledon, another sporting event both his parents love and attend regularly.) William and George also share a love for aviation, especially helicopters—William is a former search and rescue captain in the Royal Air Force, and George has long been fascinated.
For her part, Charlotte likes to call her dad “Papa,” as was revealed in a letter from the young process to her “Granny,” Princess Diana, released in honor of Mother’s Day in the U.K. in 2021. In the letter, Charlotte wrote, poignantly, “Papa is missing you.”
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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.