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The royal family may enjoy sprawling palaces and unimaginable luxury – but they are forced to abide by strict vocabulary guidelines.
Unsurprisingly, members of the British monarchy speak in a very different way to the vast majority of ‘commoners’.
Social anthropologist and author of Watching the English Kate Fox has given an amazing insight into the censorship of the royal lexicon.
Speaking to The Mirror, Kate revealed there are a cluster of words the royal family must never use.
1. Toliet
According to Kate, if one of the royals is looking for a bathroom, you will never hear them ask for the ‘toilet’.
Instead, they will refer to it as the slang-phrase ‘loo’.
2. Pardon
A British royal will never say: ‘Pardon?’ if they want you to repeat yourself.
They prefer to ask ‘Sorry?’ or even ‘Sorry, what?’, as ‘pardon’ is basically considered a curse word in royal circles.
3. Perfume
The word perfume is another unlikely addition to the royal banned list.
If Meghan, Kate, Camilla or the Queen want to ask about your perfume, they will call it a ‘scent’.
4. Posh
A royal will never compliment someone by describing them as ‘posh’.
According to Kate, their preferred word is ‘smart’.
5. Lounge
The royal family might have dozens of living rooms and dining areas – but they’d never describe them as a ‘lounge’.
When they retire to a room to enjoy tea or a glass of port, they will go into a ‘sitting room’.
6. Mum or dad
It might seem impossible, but the royals are rarely heard referring to family members as ‘mum’ or ‘dad’.
Their preferred terminology is the much more infantile ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’.
Prince Charles famously called Queen Elizabeth ‘mummy’ during a speech at her Diamond Jubilee celebration.
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