Prince Philip noted ‘eerie similarities’ between Meghan Markle and Wallis Simpson when the actress was first introduced to The Firm, a royal author has claimed.
In the latest episode of The Daily Mail’s Reading the Royals, Diary Editor Richard Eden revealed the late Prince Philip nicknamed Meghan, now 44, ‘DOW’ – short for ‘Duchess of Windsor – because he felt the two American women were so alike.
Citing royal author Ingrid Seward, Mr Eden highlighted the parallels between Meghan and Wallis, the American socialite who King Edward VIII abdicated to marry in June 1937.
Writing in her book My Mother and I, Ms Seward had claimed that, while the late Queen initially ‘championed’ Prince Harry‘s new girlfriend, Prince Philip was ‘wary’ of the former Suits star.
Ms Seward wrote: ‘While the Queen continued to champion Harry’s new love, [Prince Philip] warned his wife to be cautious. It was uncanny, he told her, how much Meghan reminded him of the Duchess of Windsor.
‘He wasn’t simply referring to the fact that both were pencil-slim, dark-haired and glamorous American divorcees.’
The late Duke of Edinburgh had met American-born Wallis several times before her death in April 1986 and perhaps sensed that Meghan could have the ability to be equally disruptive.
Eight decades before Meghan was introduced to Prince Harry via a mutual friend, Wallis played a notorious role in King Edward VIII’s abdication as he stepped down from the throne after just 326 days to marry the twice-divorced socialite.
Prince Philip noted ‘eerie similarities’ between Meghan Markle and Wallis Simpson (pictured) when the actress was first introduced to The Firm, a royal author has claimed
In the latest episode of The Daily Mail’s Reading the Royals , Diary Editor Richard Eden revealed the late Prince Philip nicknamed Meghan, now 44, ‘DOW’ – short for ‘Duchess of Windsor – because he felt the two American women were so alike
Prince Harry’s marriage to Meghan eventually proved just as troublesome for the Royals after the Sussexes quit The Firm in January 2020.
However, Prince Philip, who passed away in 2021, had been sceptical of Meghan from the very beginning and remained reluctant to be ‘charmed’ by the American actress.
When his grandson, Prince Harry, announced his plans to wed Meghan after a whirlwind 16-month courtship, Philip issued a rather stern warning: ‘One steps out with actresses, one doesn’t marry them.’
Perhaps Philip’s scepticism was rooted in an acknowledgement of the similarities between Meghan and Wallis Simpson.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1896, Wallis first met Edward in 1931 while attending a party hosted by a mutual friend with his then-mistress Lady Furness. At the time of their meeting, Wallis was still married to her second husband, Ernest Simpson.
Meghan and Harry first crossed paths in the summer of 2016 after they were introduced by a mutual friend.
Like Wallis, Meghan had also been married before.
Before marrying Prince Harry at St George’s chapel in Windsor Castle, Meghan had tied the knot with – and subsequently divorced – American film producer Trevor Engleson in a barefoot ceremony in Ocho Rios, Jamacia.
Unlike Meghan, Wallis, as a divorced woman, was not accepted into the royal fold. Writing in her substack Royals Extra, Sally Bedell Smith notes that ‘neither the government nor the Church of England would permit’ Edward’s marriage to a woman ‘”with two husbands living”‘
Philip was said to have been ‘one of the few wary’ of being charmed by Meghan. A wise Philip had met American-born Wallis on a number of occasions before her death in April 1986
Writing in her substack Royals Extra, Sally Bedell Smith revealed that Harry ‘had no problem’ marrying a divorcee.
Wallis, in contrast, had a slightly less smooth ride. As Ms Bedell Smith highlighted, in 1936, ‘neither the government nor the Church of England would permit’ Edward’s marriage to a woman ‘”with two husbands living,” in the words of his mother, Queen Mary’.
‘Queen Mary was staunch in her belief that Edward should not marry Wallis, so much so that she and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin told him that it was his duty to end his relationship with Wallis for the sake of his country,’ Mr Eden explained.
Edward, then 42, and Wallis, then 40, wed on June 3, 1937, in a low-key ceremony at Chateau de Cande in France.
The ceremony took place a month and a day after Wallis’ divorce from Mr Simpson had been finalised, with no members of the Royal Family in attendance.
Rather than wearing white, Wallis donned a pale blue dress, while Edward chose a civilian suit instead of military uniform, in recognition of their unconventional union.
It was a decision that reflected society’s attitude towards divorce – yet Meghan and Harry, in contrast, had a wedding day in May 2018 that ‘couldn’t have been more different,’ according to Mr Eden.
Not only were the nuptials attended by senior royals, including Queen Elizabeth and now-King Charles, stars like Elton John, Priyanka Chopra, Oprah Winfrey, and George Clooney were also present at the wedding that was watched by millions world over.
According to Ms Bedell Smith, Her Majesty’s friend and closest confidante, Lady Elizabeth Anson said that the Queen had believed that Meghan’s £200,000 wedding dress was ‘too white’ and that it was ‘not appropriate’ for a divorced woman to look ‘so flamboyantly virginial’
Edward, then 42, and Wallis, then 40, wed on June 3, 1937, in a low-key ceremony at Chateau de Cande in France. Rather than wearing white, Wallis instead opted to wear a pale blue dress. Meghan, in contrast, wore an all-white dress designed by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy
Despite being divorced, Meghan chose to wear an all-white dress designed by British designer Clare Waight Keller for French fashion house Givenchy.
Yet the choice of Givenchy is worth noting as it had been ‘favoured by Wallis so many years before,’ Mr Eden highlighted.
Meanwhile, the Rolls-Royce Phantom IV that took Meghan to the chapel was the same model of car that carried Wallis to her husband’s funeral at that venue 46 years earlier.
While attitudes towards divorce had certainly changed by the time Meghan walked up the aisle, it was not long before the late Queen also began to have reservations about Harry’s bride.
According to Ms Bedell Smith, Her Majesty’s friend and closest confidante, Lady Elizabeth Anson said that the Queen had believed that Meghan’s £200,000 wedding dress was ‘too white’.
‘In the monarch’s view, it was not appropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal.’
While their dresses were as different as day and night, both Meghan and Wallis only had one family member in attendance at their respective ceremonies.
Mr Eden revealed that biographer Robert Hardman uncovered the ‘uncomfortable detail’ in his podcast, Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things.
Mr Hardman noted: ‘Both brides only had one family member in attendance. In Wallis’s case, only her Aunt Bessie was present. And Meghan just had her mother Doria Ragland.’
‘Isn’t it strange that both Americans had barely any family members present on the biggest day of their lives?’ Mr Eden later speculated on Reading the Royals. ‘I’m not sure what that says about them, but isn’t it a bit of a red flag?’
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