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Prince George Has a Casual Nickname for Dad Prince William

Prince William may have a number of royal titles, but Prince George's nickname for his father might top them all.

During a 2018 visit to Leicester, Kate Middleton revealed that her three children — Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4 — have a sweet name for their dad.

A member of the crowd named Fiona Sturgess told reporters, "Kate said that William was playing football with the children last night and one of them said, I think it was George, 'Are you playing football tomorrow, Pops?' "

RELATED: Princess Diana and Prince Charles Chose William's Name to Set His Course as a Legendary King and Conqueror

Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge depart after a visit of Cardiff Castle
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge depart after a visit of Cardiff Castle

Samir Hussein/WireImage Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte

Prince George, who recently celebrated his ninth birthday, shares a close bond with his father. In addition to their look-alike status, Prince William is already teaching his eldest son (who is third in the line of succession to the throne after him) about royal life. George has been joining his parents on royal tours since he was a baby — the couple brought the little prince along to Australia and New Zealand when he was just 9 months old! — and recently he's been participating in more family events such as the annual Christmas morning church outing.

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Prince George is already taking up some of his father's charitable causes as well. Charlie Mayhew — chief executive of the charity Tusk, which works to protect endangered species in Africa — revealed that Prince George held a cake sale during COVID-19 lockdown to raise money for the organization. Prince William has been a royal patron for Tusk since 2005 as part of his ongoing work to protect the environment.

George has also inherited a number of interests and hobbies from his father. Like Prince William, Prince George is a big soccer fan and even got to tag along with his parents to the Euro 2020 tournament last summer, looking all grown up in a suit and tie for the games.

Prince George also made his Wimbledon debut this summer, 31 years after Prince William attended the famed tennis tournament for the first time with mom Princess Diana around the same age.

Kate and Prince William have also revealed that George has expressed an interest in all things aviation, especially helicopters. After all, Prince William was a search and rescue captain in the Royal Air Force.

Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (R) talks to his son Prince George as they attend the men's singles final tennis match between Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Australia's Nick Kyrgios on the fourteenth day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 10, 2022. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Prince George and Prince William

The Cambridge kids have a number of things they call Prince William, which have been revealed over the years. In a letter from Princess Charlotte to her "Granny" Princess Diana released in honor of Mother's Day in the U.K. in 2021, the little princess wrote, "Papa is missing you."

Prince William also has nicknames for his children. During a tour of Kate's specially-designed garden at Chelsea Flower Show 2019, William called Princess Charlotte "Mignonette." Fittingly, "Mignonette" is derived from the French origin of "mignon", meaning "small, sweet, and delicate" or "cute." Old French definitions also consider "mignon" to mean "dainty, pleasing, gentle, and kind."

In 2019, Kate referred to Charlotte by another sweet nickname: Lottie.

The royals often call each other by their nicknames. In fact, Kate appeared to address Prince Charles as "grandpa" last summer at the G-7 summit.

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Royal Family
Royal Family

Samir Hussein/WireImage Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis joined Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles on the Buckingham Palace balcony on June 5.

When meeting a male member of the royal family, the title "Your Royal Highness" should be used in the first instance followed subsequently by "Sir." For female members, the first address is "Your Royal Highness," then "Ma'am."

Should your inner royal fan take over and cause you to forget the protocol completely, don't worry — you won't be sent to the Tower of London.

When Prince William and Kate visited Wales earlier this year, Nicky Hurst of Country Fare Wholefoods and Fine Cheeses went with a casual address when the couple stopped by the cheese stand at Abergavenny Market.

"They are lovely," Hurst told PEOPLE. "I wasn't sure what they'd be like and what to call them in terms of their titles. I called them 'Kate' and 'Will,' and they were really relaxed."