A new book about the British royal family claims that the late Prince Philip had a “spiteful nickname” for Meghan Markle – “The Duchess of Windsor.” This is a reference to royal history that may not be clear to most fans at first, but author Ingrid Seward claims that it was meant as an insult. Seward is an a long-time royal reporter, and her new book My Mother and I hits shelves later this month. An excerpt about this nickname was published by Radar Online.
Insider sources told Seward that Prince Philip called Markle the “Duchess of Windsor” in reference to Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who married King Edward III from 1937 until his death in 1972. Edward VIII was the heir of King George V, and he was crowned in 1936 upon the death of his father. However, Edward was known as for partying and having pre-marital affairs, and he avoided socially acceptable arranged marriages. Just a few months after taking the throne, Edward proposed to Simpson, an American socialite who was had already divorced one husband and was in the process of divorcing another to be with the king.
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This proposal led to a constitutional crisis because of the laws and unwritten rules governing royal conduct at the time. As king, Edward was the head of the Church of England, which discouraged divorced in general and forbade remarriage after divorce if the ex-spouse was still alive. In spite of overwhelming backlash, Edward said that he would marry Simpson at any cost. In the end, he was forced to abdicate his throne in order to marry her. He was king for just 326 days – one of the shortest reigns in the history of the British monarchy.
Edward’s younger brother, King George VI, granted him the title Duke of Windsor after he set the crown aside. That meant that Simpson was also granted the title “Duchess of Windsor.” However, legal documents from the time specified that Edward could still use the style “Royal Highness,” but that Simpson could not. This added to the negative connotations of the titles, regarded by some as a demotion for Edward and a failure by Simpson. Nearly a hundred years later, all of this history and nuance made Prince Philip’s nickname for Markle a clear sleight in conversation among royals.
Like Simpson, Markle was divorced once before marrying Prince Harry, although since Harry is not the monarch or the heir, it is only a symbolic issue for them. The comparison likely has more to do with Markle and Prince Harry’s retreat from royal life in 2020 when they moved back to the U.S. to work in the entertainment industry. The details of that monumental decision are still debated among reporters like Seward, and some reports indicate that Prince Harry is already on the path to making up with his family.
Seward’s book, My Mother and I, is primarily about King Charles III’s relationship with Queen Elizabeth II. The book will be available everywhere on Feb. 29, 2024.
