Queen Elizabeth II has reportedly prohibited the use of eight words in the royal household in order to make sure the family doesn’t sound “banal.”
Royal commentator Marina Viro spoke to La Vita in Diretta about the forbidden words for British royals and the substitutes they have for those.
“At the royal court, you don’t mess around with words and if you do use the wrong one, it’s a big risk,” she said.
“For example, one could be marked as not up to the role, even if your name is Kate Middleton and to everyone you are already a queen,” she continued.
“The spotlight of public opinion usually planted like radar on the most famous royal house in the world this time focuses on the eight words never to be pronounced at court. Woe to talk about couch – the royal settee is called a sofa – and living room.”
“The royal room is called the sitting room, and the courtyard is simply called the terrace. In short, these words would be too banal, not very chic, unpronounceable at court,” she went on to say.
“Posh is another banned word, and while its translation is elegant or chic, for English royalty it is not at all. Perfume is middle-class lexicon, like the too shortened dad. Speaking of smells, it’s better to talk about scent, the aristocratic fragrance. As for father, he should always be called without diminutives like a daddy.”
“And just so as not to be the same as others, even when mother nature has made us identical from the point of view of needs, those who go to the bathroom at court do not use the toilet, but the lavatory,” she said.
“We are not asking ourselves too much about the real difference between the two terms, one universal, the other reserved for the circle of his Majesty,” she added. 