Prince Philip's Final Verdict on Meghan Markle: Late Duke Blamed Former Actress for Prince Harry Getting on Board With Idea of 'Megxit'
Prince Philip, who died in April 2021, expressed his "outrage" about Meghan Markle once she and Prince Harry kicked off January 2020's "Megxit."
"It appears as if, we were wrong about her all along," His Royal Highness said, as recounted in royal author Christopher Andersen's book Brothers and Wives: Inside the Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan.
The tome also claims that then-Prince Charles reacted to the "out of nowhere" announcement from the pair "intensely" and allegedly phoned his youngest son and told him to "try and fix" it.
Conflicting reports suggest the former Duke of Edinburgh didn't agree with Queen Elizabeth II when it came to first impressions of Meghan in 2017. The late consort was said to have been skeptical of the actress from the very start, and even nicknamed her "DoW" — the initials for the Duchess of Windsor.
Wallis Simpson is credited in history as the twice-divorced American socialite who allegedly caused the King of Great Britain to renounce his throne simply to be with her. The former King Edward VIII, styled as the Duke of Windsor in 1937 after his abdication, lived with Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, in Paris, France, in "exile" after the colossal scandal of his resignation.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex married in 2018 before renouncing their royal duties and moving to California in early 2020.
Philip's apprehensions about his soon-to-be granddaughter-in-law were also recounted in royal expert Ingrid Seward's book, My Mother and I. "One of the few wary of succumbing to her charm offensive, however, was Prince Philip," Seward wrote. "While the Queen continued to champion Harry’s new love, he warned his wife to be cautious. It was uncanny, he told her, how much Meghan reminded him of the Duchess of Windsor."
She continued: "He wasn’t simply referring to the fact that both were pencil-slim, dark-haired and glamorous American divorcees. There was a wealth of subtext in his barbed remark."
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Harry and Meghan's monetized attacks on the monarchy remind numerous royal historians and analysts of Edward and Wallis, which based on Meghan's Wallis-inspired choice of dress in the 2021 Oprah interview, is likely a compliment to them.
More measured assessments of Megxit have been shared in the nearly five years since it became one of if not the biggest British royal scandals since Edward VIII's 1936 Abdication.
CNN commentator Sandro Monetti said of the exit, "I never personally thought they would pull the plug. But when they did it was shocking. In this great soap opera that is the royal family, it was one of the most remarkable episodes of all time. In retrospect, the clues were always there."
Meghan has not returned to Britain since the late Queen's State Funeral in September 2022.
Mint reported on Andersen's book.