Author Claims Prince Philip ‘Blamed’ Meghan for Harry’s Royal Exit: ‘We Were Wrong...’

Many in the royal family were reportedly devastated when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, stepped down as senior royals in 2020. Among them was the late Prince Philip, who allegedly changed his opinion of Markle after their royal exit. Royal author Christopher Anderson claims the Duke of Edinburgh went straight to his wife, the late Queen, to express his ‘anger’ over Markle’s influence on Harry.

Anderson’s book, Brothers and Wives: Inside the Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan, revealed that Prince Philip was 'deeply hurt' and 'spitting blood' after learning about the Sussexes' plan to leave the UK and move to the US. As reported by The Mirror, Anderson claimed Philip had confided in his long-time aide, saying, “It appears as if we were wrong about her all along.” According to the aide, the Duke shouted, “This shows a complete lack of respect,” while in conversation with the Queen. The author added that much like his father, then-Prince Charles, also changed his views about Markle.

As per Anderson, Charles’ staff claimed his reaction to his son's exit was ‘frightening’. Charles allegedly called Harry to ‘try and fix this.’ These claims were echoed by royal biographer Ingrid Seward in her book, Prince Philip Revealed. Seward asserted that Prince Philip saw Harry’s departure with Markle as a ‘dereliction’ of his grandson's responsibilities. As per People magazine, she penned, “For a man whose entire existence has been based on a dedication to doing the right thing, it appeared that his grandson had abdicated his responsibilities for the sake of his marriage to an American divorcée in much the same way as Edward VIII gave up his crown to marry Wallis Simpson in 1937.”

She added that Philip “found it hard to understand exactly what it was that made his grandson’s life so unbearable.” Philip's disappointment was reflected in his brutal nickname for Markle that compared her to Simpson. Speaking to GB News, she explained, “I think he just couldn't get away from the fact [of the] similarities between Meghan and Harry and Edward and Mrs. Simpson.” She added, “There are so many similarities, which is why he used to call her The Duchess of Windsor, I mean, not to her face. We used to call her DoW [the abbreviation for Duchess of Windsor].”

Simpson, who was the Duchess of Windsor, was married to Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle, Prince Edward, from 1937 until his death in 1972. Having been divorced twice before marrying him, she sparked a scandal when Edward abdicated the British throne to wed her. At the time of his passing, Harry and his grandfather remained estranged.