Why Kate Middleton Used To Refer To Prince William As Steve (And Her Other Cheeky Nicknames For Him)

William, Prince of Wales is known as many things: the son of King Charles III, the heir to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex's spare, and even "One Pint Willy" (courtesy of Mike Tindall). However, one of Prince William's former nicknames from his University of St Andrews days was not meant to define his true self. The opposite, in fact — he was enrolled under the name William Wales but had people call him "Steve" so he could stay low-key on campus.

Of course, William's royal lineage makes him an attention-grabbing figure. Going by a different name was meant to keep his St Andrews days from being too chaotic. He was just a regular student like everyone else, after all. Something else that made William's unusual college experience a bit more normal was that he had a deal with the paparazzi and media. They wouldn't snap pictures of him at school if official photos were released regularly, and fellow St Andrews students were told not to speak to the media about the future king.

The "Steve" nickname was likely used by William's classmates, friends, and even Catherine, Princess of Wales since the royal couple became good friends and started dating while at The University of St Andrews . Kate Middleton calling William "Steve" while they were at St. Andrews also meant she could discuss their relationship in public with friends. She's had other nicknames for him over the years, too, including the cheeky but affectionate "Baldy" and "Big Willy."

An insider told The Sun Online in 2019 that Catherine, Princess of Wales began calling WIlliam, Prince of Wales, "Baldy" as a form of revenge. Apparently William "complained about her endless mane of hair [so 'baldy'] has been her sharp retort." Kate's gorgeous hair transformation has even made actor Jennifer Aniston envious of the princess, so could William's complaints also come from a place of jealousy?

Back in their dating days, Kate reportedly called William "Big Willy" as a nickname. Prince Harry apparently shared that tidbit during his speech at William and Kate's wedding. Ingrid Seward wrote in News.com.au, "According to late-night revellers leaving the party, Harry then did a high-pitched impersonation of Kate calling William one of her favourite nicknames 'Big Willy' and of his brother calling her 'Babykins', to much hilarity from the guests."

One of William's other names for Kate is reportedly "Duchess of Dolittle," or "DoD." Perhaps it's time to update that to Princess of Dolittle?

William, Prince of Wales has another nickname that people likely don't hear used very often. It's one his late mother, Princess Diana, gave to him when he was a toddler: "Wombat." In an NBC interview in 2007 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Diana's death, William and Harry got into a discussion about nicknames after interviewer Matt Lauer brought up William being called "Wombat." When asked where it came from, William said: "It began when I was two. ... But when we went to Australia with our parents, and the wombat, you know, that's the local animal. So I just basically got called that. Not because I look like a wombat. Or maybe I do."

After Harry teased his brother a little for crawling more than walking when he was 6 years old, William fired back and said "Ginger" was one of Harry's nicknames — but that a lot of Harry's nicknames were "a bit rude" and couldn't be repeated in the interview.

For more, check out the story behind William's amusing military nickname.