Prince Philip found Meghan Markle as 'destructive and divisive' as Wallis Simpson and was livid about Megxit
Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 on the morning of April 9, reportedly once compared Meghan Markle to Wallis Simpson. He labeled her just as "destructive" after the Duchess of Sussex and her husband, Prince Harry stepped down as senior members of the royal family.
Royal expert Ingrid Seward, wrote in her book, 'Prince Philip Revealed,' which was published last year, that Philip was hurt by Harry and Meghan's unwillingness to heed his advice on helping the former 'Suits' star adjust to royal life. He was also deeply upset at the way the couple treated Queen Elizabeth, by making their unprecedented announcement to quit the monarchy before they consulted her.
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“Philip’s way is that he says his bit, and then steps back from the situation because he doesn’t like to interfere,” Seward told Vanity Fair. “It was up to Harry and Meghan to listen but they didn’t and Philip has always been very protective of the Queen so if anyone upsets her, they upset him too. His mantra is the monarchy comes first, second, and third.”
Prince Philip was livid about Megxit
According to the Daily Mail, upon hearing about their plans, Philip was livid and responded by asking, “What the hell are they playing?”
While the Duke of Edinburgh was initially fond of Meghan, sympathizing with the fact that she was an outsider who married into the royal family just like him, his demeanor toward her changed after he refused to understand why the duchess did not want to stay in the United Kingdom, supporting 'The Firm' the way he did when he married the Queen.
“Harry’s behavior is completely alien to him,” Seward said, adding, “Don’t forget this is a man about to turn 100 who has devoted 68 years of his adult life to supporting the monarchy, and this has been a great shock... so why can’t Meghan just give up her acting career, support her husband and support the monarchy? As he used to say to [Princess] Diana, this is not a popularity contest, this is all of us working together.”
Philip compared Meghan to Wallis
After their move to quit royal life, Philip viewed Meghan “as a destructive and divisive force as Wallis," Seward wrote in the book. Simpson was the infamous American divorcee who triggered the abdication crisis in 1936 when she married the then-King Edward VIII, the uncle of Philip’s wife, Queen Elizabeth.
Since Edward was also the head of the Church of England, he could not marry someone who had been married twice and divorced, without giving up his rights to the throne. Edward chose Simpson over the crown and announced his decision to abdicate the throne, which led to Queen Elizabeth's father, George VI to become king as he was next in the line of succession.
“For Philip, whose entire existence has been based on a devotion to doing his duty, it appeared that his grandson had abdicated his for the sake of his marriage to an American divorcee in much the same way as Edward VIII gave up his crown to marry Wallis Simpson in 1936,” Seward wrote.