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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sean McPolin

Queen Camilla confirms unusual nickname for King Charles on Buckingham Palace balcony

An eagle-eyed lip reader has figured out Queen Camilla's unusual nickname for King Charles as they stand on Buckingham Palace balcony.

It happened as pomp and pageantry were on display during the Trooping the Colour military spectacle today - where the most prestigious regiments in the British Army honoured the monarch by parading to mark his birthday.

Camilla and Charles were joined by their loved ones as they stood upon the balcony, and the Royals appeared to have a sweet conversation, according to one lip-reading expert.

Camilla [Reaches for Charles arm]: "Fred, what do you think about the horse [she smiles]?"

Charles: "I don’t know [smiling back, scratching forehead with thumb]."

The pair were joined by other Royal Family members on the balcony (Zuma Press/PA Images)

Will: "Can you budge up? [talking to his three children]"

Charles [to Charlotte after hitting her on the head with his arm when waving]: "Oh sorry I didn’t see you there."

Charles [to Camilla, as Camilla started to turn to Edward and Sophie]: "What do you think? [extending arm towards incoming aircraft], aren’t they marvellous?"

Sophie [to Edward]: "Should we stand there? [Edward replies with a nod]"

Members of the public watch a fly-past of aircraft by the Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) from The Mall, as part of the King's Birthday Parade (AFP via Getty Images)

For some time it's been reported the pair's nicknames for each other were Fred and Gladys, which started even before their relationship was official.

The nicknames featured heavily in Netflix's The Crown, which looks at the life of Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family.

In the show, Diana is shown to have found a gold bracelet engraved with the letters “G” and “F”, which stood for “Gladys” and “Fred”, Charles and Camilla’s nicknames for one another.

It's believed the nicknames come from one of King Charles favourite shows, The Goon Show, which is a British radio comedy show which ran from the 50s to the 60s and features two characters - Fred and Gladys.

Thousands of people gathered for the Trooping the Colour ceremony earlier today (PA)

Charles, or Fred, according to the lip-reading expert, rode from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade, where he then lined up alongside Prince William, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, who were also on horses, as well as Kate and Camilla, who watched proceedings from a dais.

At one point, the monarch appeared to struggle with his excitable steed and according to body language expert Judi James, Camilla was on hand to try to provide support - although Kate stayed out of it.

Charles took the royal salute as Colonel in Chief of the Household Division's seven regiments during the ceremony, staged on Horse Guards Parade, as members of the royal family and 8,000 spectators watch.

The colour, or regimental flag, that trooped in front of hundreds of Guardsmen and officers will be the King's Colour of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

It was the first time a reigning monarch has ridden at Trooping the Colour since Queen Elizabeth's horse Burmese carried her during the 1986 ceremony.

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