In a lighthearted and revealing interview on the latest episode of the BBC podcast Seven: Rob Burrow, Mike and Zara Tindall spilled the beans on their playful nicknames for the Royal Family.
Hosted by English rugby league legend Rob Burrow and his wife, Lindsey, the podcast kicked off with a cheeky inquiry about the couple’s endearing nicknames for each other and other royal relatives.
And true to form, Mike didn’t waste any time diving into the royal nickname treasure trove.
He unveiled his amusing moniker for the Prince of Wales, none other than ‘One Pint Willy’.
The reason? According to Mike, it’s a nod to Prince William’s not-so-stellar reputation as a drinker.
“The Prince of Wales is known to me as ‘One Pint Willy’ because he’s not the best of drinkers,” he revealed
“Coming from a sport where it’s built on the social aspect of a couple of beers being sunk quite often. That is one I will definitely give away for the Prince of Wales.”
The revelation left Zara, Prince William’s cousin, in fits of laughter, setting the tone for a candid and amusing conversation.
“It’s out there now, sorry sir,” Mike added.
“Oh my god… You’re in so much trouble!” Zara joked.
The pair later shared insights into the endearing monikers they use for one another, as Mike disclosed the cheeky alias he holds in Zara’s phone
“We basically call each other munchkins a lot – I don’t know why that started but it has stuck,” he said.
“I will let Zara decide whether she wants to give away what I am down in her phone as.”
Zara playfully revealed that her husband is listed in her “phone as something else and it ends with kitten”.
“You can fill the first word in,” Mike chimed in with.
The Prince of Wales has accumulated more than just one nickname over the course of his life. Recent revelations unveiled that, during his wayward youth, the 41-year-old was bestowed with a handful of less-than-flattering monikers.
In his tell-all book, The Battle of the Brothers: William and Harry – The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, author Robert Lacy shares behind-the-scenes describes in his younger years Prince William had a reputation for “playground fights” and became known as ‘Basher Wills’ or ‘Billy the Basher’.
“The young prince had picked up his nicknames of ‘Basher Wills’ or ‘Billy the Basher’ when he joined Mrs Jane Mynors’ Nursery School in Notting Hill, not far from Kensington Palace, in September 1985,” Lacy wrote.
The writer described the Prince as being “noisy, cheeky and defiant of discipline” during his childhood. He “angered his classmates by pushing his way to the front of the dinner queue and getting involved in playground fights”.
His behaviour reached a point where Princess Diana once labelled him a “holy terror”.