We know of so many royal nicknames - from Prince Philip calling Queen Elizabeth "cabbage", to Prince Louis being dubbed "Lou Bugs". But royal codenames are, for obvious reasons, much less talked-about and they provide a certain amount of privacy.
The late Princess Diana is said to have had one during a particular time in her life and it ensured a huge royal secret remained unknown to the public until the right moment. According to People, this intriguing revelation apparently emerges in the upcoming Channel 5 documentary, Secrets of Diana’s Wedding Dress.
Airing at 9pm on 28th June, the programme takes royal fans on a trip down memory lane and features Elizabeth Emanuel, who designed the iconic gown with her then-husband David Emanuel. She allegedly explains that Princess Diana was referred to as "Deborah Cornwall".
"When we started to see Diana, we were just very aware of security, so we decided to call her Deborah. We called her Deborah Cornwall. Isn’t that strange?" she says.
It’s been suggested that Princess Diana’s codename was used whenever they mentioned her or when she made phone calls. The choice of name is rather surprising, although it’s possible that the surname was inspired by one of the titles the Princess would go on to have.
Diana became Duchess of Cornwall when she married the now-King Charles, but was referred to by her more senior title, Princess of Wales. In a twist, the reverse is true for Queen Camilla, who was technically Princess of Wales for 17 years and decided against using this title, reportedly out of respect for Princess Diana.
It’s harder to trace the inspiration for Deborah, though it could just be that they decided upon a name which featured her first initial but bore no other resemblance to her name. This might have made Princess Diana’s codename easier for everyone working on the dress (and the royal herself) to remember without giving the game away.
The tight security paid off and the final wedding dress came as a surprise to the world when Princess Diana stepped out in it on 29th July 1981. Her daughter-in-law Catherine didn’t get quite so lucky when she married Prince William 30 years later.
Although no one knew what the style of her gown would be until she arrived at Westminster Abbey, the Sunday Times reported in March 2011 that it was being designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
On another Channel 5 documentary, Secrets of the Royal Dressmakers, royal expert Katie Nicholl claimed that the leak had upset Kate in the run-up to the big day.
"Behind the scenes, I think that caused tears at the Palace because Kate had done everything she could to keep the wedding dress a secret," she said.
The Princess of Wales wasn’t as successful as Princess Diana was, but Kate is said to have used a codename at one point - and it also connected to one of her titles. In 2012 the Mail reported that the senior royal ended up leaving her name after she forgot her purse whilst attempting to buy a wetsuit at the Funsport store in Wales.
Arranging to reserve the wetsuit and pop back later, a source alleged that she gave her name as “Mrs Cambridge”. This was in tribute to her Duchess of Cambridge title that she still has alongside her Princess of Wales one.
