After Meghan Markle’s Number From School WhatsApp Group Was Leaked, Princess Kate’s ‘Mrs. Bobcat’ WhatsApp Alias Was Revealed
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle only arrived back in the U.K. a few weeks ago, and already there has been some royal family drama and security concerns.
The latest issue regarding security and privacy comes after it was reported that the Duchess of Sussex’s personal phone number was leaked after she joined a WhatsApp group with other parents from her children, Archie and Lilibet’s school.
After Meghan responded to welcoming messages from the other parents, a screenshot of the exchange was shared multiple times with the number attached to Meghan’s account visible. The Sussexes have yet to address the leak.
Meghan isn’t the only royal family member to use WhatsApp. One of King Charles’ former aides said that the royals commonly use it communicate with other members of the Firm or with their staffers. And when they are in a group with anyone who is not family, they have secret code names.
Jack Stooks is a British horticultural expert best known as the head gardener for King Charles III for more than two decades at the royal’s Highgrove estate. He played a key role in maintaining and developing the king’s vision for sustainable and organic gardening. As part of the Royal Family’s trusted team, he was also a key part of daily life and attended King Charles’ wedding to Camilla, as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s celebrations. These days, Stooks frequently shares his gardening tips as well as royal commentary.
Speaking on behalf of OLBG, Stooks told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that most of the royals are big fans of using WhatsApp, saying, “The royal family are big WhatsApp users. They have groups with their friends, and there is also a family group with the royal cousins, including Prince William, Zara Tindall, Peter Phillips and the York sisters. They’re very much like any other family when it comes to keeping in touch through their phones.
“The king didn’t really use technology at all when I worked there. He used to have a very old-fashioned, basic mobile phone, but he never used it. I remember William and Harry trying to get him to keep up to date with it. They were always encouraging him to use his phone, but he wasn’t interested. He wasn’t a fan at all.”
Stooks added, “I remember Princes William and Harry always had the latest phones. They actually gave their numbers out to staff so we could contact them about logistical things. They also had our numbers, and they would just WhatsApp us if they needed anything.
“He may have a lot of privilege, but William was never one to demand something from staff. He was really polite. He would always check how busy I was before asking me to do errands for him. And whenever I said I would do something for William, he would always reply: ‘You’re a legend.’”
Stooks also shared what the code names were for the princes and Kate were, revealing, “We couldn’t have them saved under their real names, so they had nicknames instead. William was ‘Bobcat,’ Harry was ‘Baz,’ and when Kate joined the family, she became ‘Mrs Bobcat.'”
