The Royal Staff Have a Secret (Pretty Rude) Nickname for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

It's no secret that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a, um, strained relationship with the royal family, and apparently the situation is so tense that the palace staff have a nickname for them.

According to a Mail on Sunday excerpt from author Gyles Brandeth upcoming book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, "whenever the names of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex come up in court circles, courtiers flinch and change the subject or refer to them as 'persons who live overseas.'"

Meanwhile, Brandeth writes that if "Harry and Meghan are mentioned to members of the Royal Family, they simply smile briefly and say ‘we wish them all the best’ and nothing else."

Truly cold/rude.

Anyway, this revelation comes amid the royal preparing themselves for (by which I mean spiraling over) Prince Harry's upcoming memoir, Spare, not to mention to couples' Netflix docuseries which is said to be dropping on December 8. And while the Queen isn't around to see either project, according to Brandeth she was "always more concerned for Harry’s well-being than about ‘this television nonsense,'" so at least that's something!

Brandeth adds that Her Majesty simply wanted Harry to "find his feet" in California and "find really useful things to do," and was basically pretty chill when it came to royal family drama. Here's to hoping the rest of the royals can take a leaf out of her book—but considering a recent report that Prince William and Kate Middleton aren't going to see the Sussexes when they're all on the east coast in a week, seems like things will remain tense for now.

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