Princess Diana goes by many names: the People’s Princess, Princess of Hearts, Lady Di. But in a resurfaced Christmas card, we now know one of her nicknames given to her by her family.
Royal fan, David Butler, shared a Christmas card from Prince Charles and Princess Diana back in 1986 that reads, “Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year and lots of love from the four of us, Duch and Charles.”
Mr Butler, who uploaded a snap of the card to social media captioned his post, “Very unusual to see Diana use her nickname on a christmas card!”
One’s royal Christmas card: Charles, Diana, William and Harry in 1986.
Speaking to HELLO, Diana’s former chef Darren McGrady revealed that the late Princess of Wales was called ‘Duch’ by her family as she acted like a Duchess.
“I remember Sandringham one Christmas. She came into the kitchen with Sarah Ferguson and ‘Fergie’ called her ‘Duch’. I was surprised because I knew she was a Princess and asked her why she had called her that,” he says.
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And while we often refer to Princess Diana as Di, writer Beatrice Gormley revealed that the princess hated that abbreviation.
In her 2005 book Diana, Princess of Wales, she wrote, “Diana was usually friendly and good-natured, but not when she was called Di. ‘Say that again’, she told her schoolmates, ‘and you die. I am Duchess. Duch’.
“Later in the year, Diana took part of a Dutch doll in the school play. She was too shy to speak in front of an audience, but the Dutch doll wasn’t supposed to say anything.
“When it was her turn, Diana moved around the stage with stiff movements just like a doll and everyone clapped for her. Now the nickname Duch seemed to fit her even better.”
Princess Diana wasn’t your typical royal, take a look back at some of her best moments.
They’re not the only sweet royal nicknames
Prince William and Duchess Catherine call each other poppet. Swoon!
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex apparently refer to each other as Meg and Haz.
“Cabbage”, “Darling” and “Lilibet” are just a few of the sweet titles Prince Philip has for his wife, The Queen. Don’t mind us as we weep in the corner.
Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla have long called each other “Fred” and “Gladys.”
Princess Diana used to call William “Wombat” and Harry “Ginger” when they were little.
Once she’s developed a close enough rapport, Duchess Meghan will be able to call the Queen “Mama.”
