Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Jordan on February 26, 2026.
Credit: Getty Images
The Gist
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were given a harsh nickname by palace insiders, who reportedly “flinch” at the mention of the Sussexes.
Craig Brown wrote about the moniker in his book A Voyage Around the Queen.
Harry and Meghan stepped down from the royal family in 2020.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may have stepped down from the royal family back in 2020, but they’re still a topic of discussion among the monarchy. According to a royal author, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been given some pretty cold nicknames within the palace.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Jordan on February 26, 2026.
Credit: Getty Images
In his book, A Voyage Around the Queen, author Craig Brown claimed that although Meghan and Harry’s real names don’t get brought up too often in royal circles, the estranged family members are referred to indirectly, per The Mirror. David Albert Charles Armstrong-Jones, second Earl of Snowdon, is quoted in Brown’s book saying, “The royal family is quite good at blanking out anything unpleasant or uncomfortable.”
Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth also told Brown that members of the family have quite an icy way of referring to the couple.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during a trip to Colombia in August 2024.
Credit: Getty Images
“These days, the names of Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, do not crop up very often in court circles,” Brandreth explained. “When they do, courtiers flinch almost imperceptibly and change the subject—or, if that’s not possible, refer to them obliquely as ‘persons who live overseas.'” Brandreth added that when the Sussexes are mentioned to other members of the royal family, they “simply smile briefly and say, ‘We wish them all the best’—and nothing else.”
Back when they were working royals, Meghan and Harry reportedly had more endearing secret nicknames. According to Express, an August 2024 report revealed the couple’s security personnel gave them the moniker “DS,” which stands for Duke and Duchess of Sussex. However, the two would go by David Stevens and Davina Scott. Harry’s brother, Prince William, and his wife, Kate Middleton, had similar code names: Daphne Clark and Danny Collins, derived from Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during a trip to Colombia in August 2024.
Credit: Getty Images
In their personal lives, Harry and Meghan fondly refer to each other by their first initials. The As Ever founder opened up about the sweet nicknames during an April 2025 appearance on the “The Jamie Kern Lima Show” podcast.
“[It started] probably at the beginning of us dating, when everything was in code,” she explained. “People didn’t know we were dating for—talk about memory lane, so long ago—I mean, it’ll be our seven-year wedding anniversary soon. I couldn’t tell anyone who I was dating and he was keeping—so I think we were on just a letter basis. And then it stuck.”
Read the original article on InStyle