Royal watchers and social media users revisited an intimate detail of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s marriage on Monday as the nation observed the third anniversary of her death: Prince Philip often referred to his wife by the one-word nickname "Cabbage."
The nickname, reported widely after it circulated on Reddit and other platforms, was confirmed by British historian and biographer Robert Lacey, who told The Sunday Times in 2006 that he had heard Philip “sometimes refer to her” in that way. The name is understood to be a literal rendering of the French term "mon petit chou," an idiom used as a tender form of address that translates loosely as "my darling."
Observers on social media and royal-focused message boards noted the nickname as an example of the private warmth within the couple’s long marriage. The late sovereign and the Duke of Edinburgh, who were married for 73 years, were both fluent in French, which supporters say helps explain the use of a French term of endearment in private conversation. Some accounts also say Philip sometimes called the Queen "sausage," but it is the vegetable-themed sobriquet that has most frequently been recalled in public discussion.
The nickname has also appeared in popular culture. Viewers pointed to a scene in Netflix’s drama The Crown in which a character representing the Queen refers to herself by the same term. The program, which dramatizes royal life, has drawn attention in the past for blending historical events with scripted dialogue.
Monday marked three years since Queen Elizabeth II, the mother of the current monarch, died on Sept. 8, 2022, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at age 96. Her death prompted 10 days of national mourning and a state funeral on Sept. 19, during which her coffin lay at rest in Edinburgh Cathedral and later in Westminster Hall, where an estimated 250,000 people queued to pay respects during the lying-in-state.
Tributes and reflections about the Queen’s life and relationships proliferated online as well as at private memorials. On the anniversary, Prince Harry visited St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle to lay a wreath and flowers at his grandmother’s grave after arriving at Heathrow Airport. His visit came while Prince William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, were attending an engagement in Sunningdale, Berkshire, several miles away. Catherine made a last-minute decision to support the Prince of Wales at a local Women’s Institute branch for the anniversary, continuing her phased return to public duties.
Harry’s trip is his longest solo visit to the U.K. since 2022 and follows a recent legal challenge he brought over the level of police protection provided to him while in Britain, which he lost in April. Court records and media reports indicate that a serving Metropolitan Police officer from the Royalty and Specialist Protection Squad was seen collecting the duke at Heathrow, suggesting bespoke protection arrangements during his stay. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, remained in California with their children.
Prince Philip died on April 9, 2021, at age 99. The recollection of his affectionate nickname for the Queen has been circulated in the context of this week’s remembrances as members of the royal family and the public continue to reflect on her life and the private bonds behind the institution.