Late Queen's secret nickname revealed by her close confidante (and it's not Lilibet!)

Daily Mail​

17-06-2025

Queen Elizabeth's secret nickname used by her close family members has been revealed for the first time in the writings of a royal author.
Lady Elizabeth Anson, born at Windsor Castle, was not only Elizabeth's cousin but also one of her closest friends, having supported the monarch through the deaths of her mother, the Queen Mother, and sister, Princess Margaret.
Now, nearly four years on from Lady Elizabeth's death aged 79, a royal journalist has revealed the special nickname she used for the late monarch - separate from the known moniker Lilibet, after which Harry and Meghan's four-year-old daughter was named.
Writing on Substack, Sally Bedell Smith, the American author behind four royal books, revealed that Lady Elizabeth often referred to the monarch as 'Jemima'.'
'In the Queen's later years, Lady Elizabeth (herself nicknamed Liza) affectionately referred to her as 'Jemima' (for reasons she never explained) and 'The Number One Lady',' she wrote on the newsletter platform.
A far stretch from her Christian name, Elizabeth, the nickname Jemima is just one of a handful of monikers used to refer to the late monarch, perhaps the most well known being Lilibet.
At the time of her death in 2022, aged 96, her official title was: Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
In other official realms, she was known as 'Mother of all People' by the Salish nation in Canada, 'Paramount Chief' to many in Fiji, and 'The White Heron' by the Maori people of New Zealand.
Beyond her role as Head of State, she carried a range of sweeter, more personal monikers coined by her family members, including Gan Gan, Cabbage, and Lilibet.
A young Prince William even added Gary to the list after one incident in which he shouted for Gary, rather than Granny, caught on.
Lady Elizabeth, known as Liza to her friends, died in November 2020 at the age of 79, just shy of two years before Queen Elizabeth passed away in September 2022.
Though separated by 15 years in age, the pair were known for their close relationship, their bond having strengthened following the deaths of two of the Queen's closest relatives, her mother and sister.
They would speak on the phone on a weekly basis, and the Queen would hold monthly quiet dinners for just the two of them, the author wrote.
Lady Elizabeth Anson was born at Windsor Castle during World War II and with King George VI as a godfather, she grew up surrounded by, and on first name terms with, the royals.
Lady Elizabeth was also royally connected (her mother, a Bowes-Lyon, was a niece of the Queen Mother) but she was also one of the Queen's closest friends.
When she married, the then 20-year-old Princess Anne was a bridesmaid, and her society cameraman brother Patrick (the Earl of) Lichfield, who gave her away, was — along with the Earl of Snowdon — the royals' go-to photographer.
For almost 60 years she presided over London's party scene with a ruthless efficiency. From royalty to celebrity her business, Party Planners, organised the capital's best and most lavish celebrations.
She first decided to be a party planner when she was 17. She was working as a receptionist at the Hyde Park Hotel in London, but she fell down a flight of stairs and injured herself.
The fall meant she needed to find a job that would enable her to work from home, and was inspired at having to organise her own debutante party when she realised she could make a living from planning celebrations.
Her first event was for the late Queen Mother. 'She was hosting a party for one of her godchildren,' Lady Elizabeth previously told Mail on Sunday. 'I remember charging very little and receiving a letter from the Queen Mother telling me to double the invoice.'
She hosted bashes for everyone from Baroness Thatcher and Sir Mick Jagger, to Tom Cruise and Bill Clinton. Weddings were a speciality: there was pop star Sting's to Trudie Styler to the slightly more reserved nuptials for Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece (to heiress Chantal Miller).
When Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011, the Queen asked her to organise a party for all the visiting royal guests.
By then she was a veteran of royal party planning. No palace event, it seemed, was complete without input from Lady Elizabeth. She arranged the Queen's 80th birthday party and that to mark the 50th anniversary of her coronation.
In April 2021, the Queen made Lady Elizabeth a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order as a sign of her personal esteem.