Royal Slang Only True Fans Will Understand

Apparently, this bit of royal slang came directly from King George VI, father of Queen Elizabeth II and grandfather of King Charles III. He reportedly once said that the royals were “not a family, we’re a firm.” Sounds a bit harsh, in a way, but the royals ran with it.

Basically, if you’re the child of a monarch, you’re an HRH. For example, Prince William is currently His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and you should call him “Your Royal Highness” if you ever run into him. But when he becomes King, he’ll be a HM: His Majesty.

Historians think the phrase comes from the time when bright white, almost translucent skin was popular among the upper classes of Europe. If you could see someone’s blue veins through their skin, that was a sign they were wealthy and didn’t have to work outside in the Sun like everybody else.

Harry hates the term, though. In November 2021 he claimed during a Wired panel, “Maybe people know this and maybe they don’t, but the term ‘Megxit’ was or is a misogynistic term, and it was created by a troll, amplified by royal correspondents, and it grew and grew and grew into mainstream media.”

Hereditary peers are people who inherited their titles, and some of those go back a very long time. They can pass their title down to their own children, too. Life peers, on the other hand, are people who got their title in recognition of an impressive act; they can’t pass their title on.

“In today’s Standard there are four quarterings — England (three lions passant) in the first and fourth quarters, Scotland (a lion rampant) in the second quarter, and Ireland (a harp) in the third quarter,” the website states. “Wales is not represented in the Royal Standard, as its special position as a Principality was recognised by the creation of the Prince of Wales long before the incorporation of the quarterings for Scotland and Ireland in the Royal Arms.” Now you know.

Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin, two of the stars of smash-hit royal drama The Crown, did a video in 2020 where they guessed royal slang, and “Nott Cott” was brought up then. O’Connor, who played Charles, got its meaning right away.

An equerry is in very close contact with the royal family… and sometimes this can lead to, er, other things. Princess Margaret’s one-time boyfriend, Peter Townsend, had been an equerry to King George VI when he met her. But because he was already divorced, they couldn’t marry.

While she was alive, Elizabeth was the Fount or Fountain of Honor throughout Britain, though other countries had their own Founts of Honor. Now that she’s passed away, it’s Charles. He alone can give someone a peerage or knighthood.

You wouldn’t expect that the royals would approve of this term, but seemingly they’re okay with it. Catherine, Princes of Wales’ circle of friends is reportedly referred to as “the Turnip Toffs” because of the amount of arable land they own between them.

The Household is actually split up into five distinct groups: The Royal Collection Trust, the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, the Master of the Household’s Department, the Privy Purse and Treasurer’s Office, and the Private Secretary’s Office.

But where did the “Sloane” part come from? Well, that would be Sloane Square, an expensive part of London where the rich and popular hung out. Most Sloane Rangers ended up marrying one another, as the wealthy often do… but not Diana of course. She married as high as you could possibly go!

The official royal family website informs you of the pronunciation, reading, “On presentation to The Queen, the correct formal address is ‘Your Majesty’ and subsequently ‘Ma’am,’ pronounced with a short ‘a,’ as in ‘jam.’”

This makes William the “heir apparent,” meaning no-one can challenge his place in line. A “heir presumptive,” on the other hand, is someone whose position can be challenged. For example, before 2013 when the rules on gender were changed, any female-born royal was a heir presumptive, because a younger brother would have taken her place in line.

Other countries also have a version of elevenses. For example, in Belgium it’s called a tienuurtje, in Hungary the tíz-órai, and in Slovakia the desiata. And it’s not just for royals but normal people too!

Investitures are held at the royal palaces about 30 times per year, with usually about 60 people getting their awards in one go. Most of them walk away with an OBE or MBE, but those who have done especially good work might get a knighthood.

They also say “pudding” instead of “dessert.” So remember, if you’re for some reason invited to dinner with the royal family, the correct thing to say if you want more of a sweet treat is, “Please may I have a second helping of pudding.” Oh, and address that to a member of staff, not the monarch!

So during her Christmas speech that year, the monarch labeled 1992 with a Latin phrase: annus horribilis, which means “horrible year.” And while it soon caught on as part of the royal lexicon, gradually, the royal family’s fortunes improved.

It’s not exactly considered classy to refer to someone as a “commoner” though. Diana’s catalog-bought engagement ring was once called the “Commoner’s Sapphire” by snobs, and now that sounds like it was done solely to humiliate her, even if it wasn’t.

Just to make things more complicated, the royals also use “accession” to mean roughly the same thing. Basically, “succession” refers to the royal necessity of an heir becoming monarch, and “accession” refers to the actual logistics of it. Got all of that?

Be sure to know the difference between courtesy titles and subsidiary titles! A courtesy title is what the children of peers of the realm — that is, members of the House of Lords — have. A subsidiary title is one of the “lesser” titles a royal might be given. For example, William may be a prince, but he’s also a duke!

“Drawing room” actually comes from the 16th-century concept of a “withdrawing room.” Essentially, that was where you went to “withdraw,” or to stop other people from bothering you! The idea changed over the years, but the rooms themselves remained.

Administering the Privy Purse takes a lot of work. This falls to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster — who is usually part of the British government — along with the Treasurer to the King, and the Keeper of the Privy Purse: two titles which are generally held jointly by the same person nowadays.

Many Dowager Queens are also Queen Mothers. The widow of King George V, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was known as the Queen Mother or even Queen Mum. That helped differentiate her from her daughter, who shared her first name, Elizabeth.

Ever since 2012 the government has paid the monarch for, well, ruling. The royal family’s website explains, “Funding for the Sovereign Grant comes from a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estate revenue.” It adds, “The new system provides for the Royal Household to be subject to the same audit scrutiny as other government expenditure.” 

This is the situation that came about with King George III. He was famously mentally fragile, and eventually his son George IV became Prince Regent and ruled the country even though his father was technically still King. George IV only properly became King once his father had passed away, even though he’d been running things all along.

Despite what tourists assume from time to time, The Royal Guard aren’t just there for decoration. Mess with them, or get too close while taking a selfie, and there will be consequences. People have been shouted at by them for getting too close, and they’re definitely allowed to threaten you if you act aggressively!

Charles, on the other hand, seems to want his wife Camilla to be equal in rank to him, even though — or maybe because — there was a lot of debate once about whether she should be Queen Consort or Princess Consort, seeing as how she was Charles’ second wife. At his request, she’s generally referred to as simply “Queen” now.

To abdicate means to give up your own right to the throne, and that of your heirs. King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 in order to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, and it sent shockwaves through the entire royal family. It’s because of that that Elizabeth was in a position to become Queen in the first place: ordinarily, she never would have been.

When a royal uses the term “The Crown” it means, in fact, everything the monarchy is and does and represents. So the people, the traditions, the protocol, the governments: everything.

One such moniker was said to be Sharon, used by close staff, such as aides and bodyguards, and military personnel. While it may sound like a funny choice of name, it was paramount for security; it added a layer of secrecy in case anyone was eavesdropping. “S” was also apparently used, believed to stand for “Sovereign.”

Following the news of her death, the British prime minister and other key personnel would have received the coded message “London Bridge is down.” The protocol listed many intricate instructions, including flying flags at all government departments at half-mast and ringing all church bells with leather mufflers to make their sound more mournful.

And if so, why? The reasons for the unusual name remain unclear, though we guess that’s part of the point. They don’t call it the Secret Service for nothing.

Surprisingly, the word may have come from parts of France where the expression “mon petit chou” is a term of endearment. It's safe to say that everything sounds better in French!

It's a good thing they had a name in place, then. The phrase has since been described as part of the aforementioned Operation London Bridge.

Showing they have a sense of fun, the royals turned her best attempt at pronouncing it into a nickname for the future monarch. Harry and Meghan famously named their daughter this cute moniker.

Assigned to him by the United States Secret Service, Unicorn covers him during visits to America. The Secret Service are also known to use “Principal” as another code name for the current monarch.

The bridge is located in Anglesey, an island in Wales, which might explain the code name. Interestingly, before becoming the new King of the United Kingdom, Charles was known as the Prince of Wales.

They’re said to have called each other Fred and Gladys since they dated back in their twenties, particularly in their private conversations. The unassuming names certainly don't hint at the royals behind the code.

His wife, Camilla, has become the Queen Consort and will join him in what will reportedly be a shorter and less lavish event than usual at Westminster Abbey. Charles’ late mother was publicly crowned in the same location.

That’s because the couple recently gained the titles Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. Apparently, they don’t yet have funeral operation code names like other members of the royal family.

It doesn’t sound like the young prince was too impressed with this impromptu nickname, though. Still, it stays with him to this day and is probably recalled with affection for the late Diana.

While that didn’t work out in the end, maybe she still felt at home going under a different name. Davina Scott and David Stevens were presumably chosen to match the initials of their titles — a.k.a the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Diana referred to Morton by the code name “Noah,” but why? According to him, it was a loose acronym based on a previous description of Morton as a “notable author and historian.” Clever!

Bridge names are reportedly used due to their symbolism of leading from one place to the next. The real Forth Bridge is in Edinburgh, Scotland, which makes sense, since Philip was the Duke of Edinburgh.

While she ended her days at Royal Lodge Windsor in Berkshire, England, the choice of bridge reflects the importance of Scotland to both the Queen Mother and the rest of the royal family.

The code name for his post-death arrangements is an unusual one, this time taking inspiration from a feature in London rather than a bridge. It isn’t entirely clear how this came about.

It’s also sometimes shortened to “Tips.” We're not sure if the young prince has a penchant for the quintessential hot drink, but the staff refer to him at school: by his initials “PG.” Cute!