The true story behind Prince Philip's 'brutal' nickname for Meghan Markle
16 April 2024, 16:41
The Duke of Edinburgh's name for Prince Harry's wife, which he never used in front of her, was inspired by Prince Edward's marriage to Wallis Simpson in 1937.
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It has been reported that when Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, married into the Royal Family in 2018 Prince Philip was one of the members of the establishment who was wary about the American actress and her relationship with Prince Harry.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021, is said to have drawn similarities between the mother of Prince Harry's two children - Archie and Lilibet - and the late Wallis Simpson, whose relationship with Prince Edward resulted in him abdicating the throne.
In fact, it is said that Queen Elizabeth II's husband thought they were so alike that he gave her a rather brutal nickname - Duchess of Windsor or DOW - which was Wallis' title from the day she married Edward, the Duke of Windsor.
This is according to royal commentator and author Ingrid Seward who recently claimed in an interview that Prince Philip "always tried to see the good" in people, but that he " couldn't get away from" the similarities between Meghan and Wallis.
"I think Prince Philip was very canny about people and he didn't always see the bad in them, he tried to see the good in them," Ingrid said: "I think he just couldn't get away from the fact [of the] similarities between Meghan and Harry and Edward and Mrs Simpson."
Ingrid went on to explain: "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 - DoW [the abbreviation for Duchess of Windsor]."
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The royal expert goes into more detail about this nickname and Philip and the Queen's relationship with Meghan in her book My Mother and I where she writes: "One of the few wary of succumbing to (Meghan's) charm offensive... was Prince Philip. From the moment he detected her apparent similarity to Wallis, he referred to her as DoW."
On the other hand, the late Queen Elizabeth II is said to have "remained hopeful" and "harboured high hopes" for the Duchess of Sussex.
Wallis Simpson caused a huge shift in the Royal Family's future when Prince Edward abdicated the throne in 1936 in order to marry her.
The American socialite had been divorced twice, which both ex-husbands still alive at the time, and therefore was not an appropriate match for the King, a consensus which came from the Church of England and the establishment.
This "abdication crisis" resulted in Edward abdicating from the throne in order to be with Wallis, officially stepping down from his position on 11th December 1936 in a broadcast where he said he could not do his job as King "with the support from the woman I love".
Prince Edward and Wallis Simon married on 3rd June 1937 where they became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, a moniker they held until their deaths.
It is thought the similarities between Wallis and Meghan are based on the fact that both women were and are American, and that both had previously been married before wedding a member of the Royal Family.
Prior to meeting Prince Harry, Meghan Markle was married to American film producer Trevor Engelson, who she divorced in 2014, two years before her first meeting with Harry.
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