According to a new book about the royal family, Prince Philip had a nasty nickname for Meghan Markle. Ironically, it refers to a former family member with a scandalous past.
Prince Philip’s private nickname for Meghan Markle stung
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward is the author of a new book, My Mother and I. Seaward discussed the private nickname Prince Philip bestowed on Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s wife.
Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband for 73 years, reportedly wasn’t a fan of the former Suits star. But in turn, he gave her a nasty nickname representative of a similar royal wife.
Per an excerpt published by The New York Post, Seward wrote that the duke allegedly called Markle the “Duchess of Windsor.” This was reportedly a stinging reference to the title held by the much-maligned American socialite Wallis Simpson who married King Edward VII.
Edward abdicated the British throne to marry Simpson, a US divorcée, in 1937. The couple remained married for 35 years until his death on May 28, 1972.
Seward wrote that Philip believed it to be “uncanny” how much Markle reminded him of Simpson. Additionally, “He wasn’t simply referring to the fact that both were pencil-slim, dark-haired, and glamorous American divorcées,” she writes.
There are striking similarities between the exiled royal couples
In his desire to marry Wallis Simpson, King Edward VII was cut off from his friends, family, and the royal life to which he was accustomed. However, the story appears eerily similar to that of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, whose relationship was not encouraged by the royal family, leading them to leave their senior royal duties for a new life in America.
Simpson was a divorced American, like Meghan Markle. Just as Harry left royal life behind to live abroad, in 1936, Edward did the same.
Both Harry and Edward never reconciled themselves to the loss of their royal status. They both remained estranged from the House of Windsor.
Like Prince Harry, the Duke of Windsor believed he had been cut off financially. Harry complained of the same circumstances in his autobiography, Spare.
It was felt that the ambitious Wallis was shaping the views of her vulnerable husband. A similar accusation was made of Meghan.
Prince Philip initially told Prince Harry not to marry Meghan Markle
Prince Philip was reportedly against Prince Harry marrying Meghan Markle before Harry sealed the deal with a diamond ring in November 2017. Philip appeared to have a narrow opinion of Meghan in a story published in 2019.
Prince Philip warned his grandson against marrying Meghan, telling Prince Harry: “One steps out with actors, one doesn’t marry them,” a new report claims. The allegations were made in a report in The Sunday Times.
The comment was reportedly made ahead of the couple’s engagement. Subsequently it came on the heels of remarks also made by Prince William, who advised Harry to consider whether he was “sure” he wanted to rush into marriage to Meghan.
Harry ignored the urgings of his family and proposed to Meghan in November, six months before they married in May 2018. In addition, the couple were bestowed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles by Queen Elizabeth on their wedding day.
