ROBERT JOBSON
‘Narcissistic’ and ‘domineering’ Meghan Markle is like Wallis Simpson – and Prince Philip gave her special nickname
Meghan styled herself 'Wallis like' for her infamous Oprah interview
THE DUCHESS of Sussex shares the same “narcissistic and controlling” qualities as Wallis Simpson while her husband Prince Harry is as weak as King Edward VIII, according to a respected author.
Sally Bedell Smith, whose new book charts how George VI “saved the monarchy” after his older brother Edward abdicated to marry Wallis, says there are parallels between the couples.
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And she says Prince William would have felt a similar sense of “betrayal” by Harry as their great grandfather felt about his brother after Edward relinquished the throne and became the Duke of Windsor.
Bedell Smith, who was given extensive access to royal archives, including the Queen Mother’s diaries and letters, told the Oxford Literary Festival that after his abdication Edward — known as David to his family and friends — “did a lot of harmful things”.
While promoting her latest book, George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy, she said: “He lied to his brother about how much money he had. It was those kinds of deception, as well as his behaviour in general.
“Harry was never going to be King. But I think there are similar feelings of betrayal that have resulted in William, in particular, being furious with his brother — with good reason.”
She records: “They had a difficult childhood but there was a period of time, as was the case with Bertie (George VI) and David, when they were very close.”
She added: “In some respects Meghan and the Duchess of Windsor have similar qualities, very narcissistic, very controlling and very dominating.
"And if you read David’s letters to his previous lover . . . you can see how weak he was and how much he needed a domineering woman, and it feels as if Harry is somewhat the same way.”
It comes as the feud between William and Harry seems no closer to healing after they appeared separately at the Diana Legacy Awards in London last week.
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When you dig deeper there are of course similarities — not least the way Meghan styled herself “Wallis like” for her infamous Oprah interview.
Meghan/Wallis’s lives do seem intertwined.
Inside lavish Villa Windsor - Mansion owned by Queen's uncle King Edward and Wallis Simpson which appears on The Crown
Both having met a prince at 34, their story dynamics feature a strained brotherhood, a fallout with a rival duchess, allegations of betrayal and the allure of an American woman reshaping royal destiny.
The rift between William and Harry seemed to widen with time like that of King Edward VIII and his brother King George VI.
A frostiness developed between Wallis and Bertie’s wife Elizabeth, further distancing the brothers. Wallis didn’t just navigate the tumult but revelled in it, finding a kind of freedom in the disdain.
Meghan, like those who came before her, seeks to find her place in a world that is welcoming and wary.
Her new ventures, her branding efforts, seemed to many like defiance, a challenge to the narrative that sought to define her as the villain.
Once again she is seen as the not-so-quiet American, the ghost of Wallis’s past.
Could she now embrace the role cast for her and become an antagonist with grace, adopting the spirit and wit of Wallis Simpson: “You can never be too rich or too thin”?
The late Prince Philip, not a fan of Harry’s choice of bride, even named Meghan the “D.O.W.” in a nod to Wallis’s Duchess of Windsor title following her 1937 marriage to Edward.
Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936 unfurled as a saga that would etch itself deeply into the fabric of the royals.
Edward VIII said in his final broadcast as King that he couldn’t carry on his duty without the woman he loved at his side as his Queen.
His government led by Stanley Baldwin — who saw him as unsuited for the role — felt the public would not accept a twice-divorced woman as queen, so he was effectively forced out.
It was a decision that tore asunder the bonds of brotherhood that had linked Edward and Bertie.
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Bertie, who was to ascend to the throne as George VI, found himself caught in a storm of emotions.
His diary showed his inner turmoil, when he described how he went to visit Queen Mary, his mother, after the full impact of his brother’s decision broke him, reducing him to floods of tears.
Edward, with his effortless charm, outshone his brother, as the Prince of Wales and was hugely popular.
Bertie, who had a pronounced stammer and was painfully shy, struggled in the shadow of his sibling’s confidence.
They had shared a closeness typical of brothers, marked by both affection and the occasional barb.
They even shared a mistress, a French courtesan.
But when Edward became involved with Wallis a frostiness developed between her and Elizabeth, the future Queen Consort and Queen Mother.
In private Wallis called her “Cookie” as she believed she looked like a fat Scottish cook. When Elizabeth learned this she was furious and refused to speak Wallis’s name, instead referring to her as “that woman”.
In 1935, Elizabeth, then the Duchess of York, had overheard Wallis performing a particularly cruel and vindictive imitation of her at Fort Belvedere, Edward’s country retreat.
The tension between the two women added layers of complexity to an already strained relationship, further distancing the brothers.
Bertie, loyal to a fault, had stood by his brother through various trials.
But the abdication negotiations, marked by deceit over financial arrangements, severed what bonds of trust remained.
Beyond the personal betrayal there were institutional machinations at play, casting doubts over Bertie’s suitability for the throne.
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Reports on his psychological fitness and plans for a potential regency led by Queen Mary painted a picture of a monarchy in uncertainty, adding to Bertie’s anxieties about his ability to rule.
The accession to the throne, thus, was not a moment of triumph for Bertie but one of profound reluctance.
Thrust into the limelight, he and Elizabeth were burdened with roles for which they felt profoundly unprepared — a sentiment poignantly conveyed in their correspondence with Edward.
The new King and Queen Consort were enveloped in a sense of despair, mourning the loss of a private life they had cherished.
They also fell out over money. George VI felt Edward grossly minimised his assets in discussions with his brother in the days before the abdication, estimating his fortune at £90,000. In fact, his assets probably topped £1.1million.
“I am not seeking to reproach you or anyone,” George VI wrote to him a few months later.
“But the fact remains I was completely misled.”
Documents show that at one point while King, Edward was receiving £410,000 a year (more in real terms than the late Queen got), largely from the civil list but also in income from the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.
Edward’s abdication left a wound that never truly healed — a tale of loyalty tested, of love lost and of the heavy crown that came to rest on reluctant shoulders.
Bertie’s reign, emerging from the shadows of controversy and doubt, would be a testament to resilience, a narrative of a king who found his strength amid the ruins of brotherhood and the tumult of a kingdom in transition.
As the pages of history and the screens of today blend, the narrative continues, a testimony of love, bitterness and jealousies in the ever-evolving tale of the British monarchy.
The Queen Mother’s grudge lasted a lifetime.
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Although there was talk that she comforted Wallis at Edward’s funeral in 1972, the Windsors never forgot her role in the abdication.
When Wallis’s coffin left her Paris mansion in 1986 it was not covered by her husband’s royal standard, and the HRH does not appear on her gravestone next to the Duke’s in the royal burial ground at Frogmore.
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She remained an outsider to the end as far as The Firm was concerned.
Could the same await Meghan?
FLED UK TO LIVE IN AMERICA
BORN: Rachel Meghan Markle in Los Angeles, August 4, 1981. TV lighting director father, Thomas, and mum Doria Ragland separated when she was two.
DIVORCED: Actress married film producer Trevor Engelson in 2011. Filed a no-fault divorce in 2014.
Two-year relationship with Canadian celebrity chef Cory Vitiello ended in May 2016.
Two months later she went on a date with Prince Harry set up by a friend.
AGE WHEN SHE MET PRINCE: 34. Meghan Markle had minor fame for role on TV series Suits. But dating Harry and the Megxit scandal made her world famous.
ROYAL LIFE v LOVE: After a lavish Windsor wedding in 2018, Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit the UK in 2020, ending up in California. As non-working royals they were not allowed to cash in on their royal status.
CHILDREN: Archie and Lilibet, whose name reportedly caused annoyance to the late Queen.
LIFE ABROAD: Couple have £11million home in Montecito, California.
BOOKS and DOCUMENTARIES: Meghan wrote children’s book The Bench in 2021.
After interviews damning the Royal Family with Oprah Winfrey and on Netflix, Harry wrote Spare, his whinging tome about his life inside and outside the Royal Family, including digs at William, Kate and his father.
FEUD WITH FAMILY: After the death of their mother Diana, William and Harry were inseparable.
Meghan’s arrival blew their relationship apart.
UNFAZED BY ROYAL STATUS
BORN: Bessie Wallis Warfield, Baltimore, June 19, 1896.
Flour merchant father died five months after the birth. Lived with her mum.
DIVORCED: Twice. Married to US Navy aviator Earl Winfield Spencer Jr for 11 years.
Was divorcing shipping exec Ernest Simpson when friends introduced Wallis to the Prince of Wales in the UK.
AGE WHEN SHE MET PRINCE: 34. Edward found Wallis’s domineering manner and abrasive irreverence toward his position appealing.
His official biographer said he became “slavishly dependent” on her.
Courtiers alarmed as the affair began to interfere with his duties.
INSTANT FAME: Because of her relationship, Wallis was Time mag Woman of the Year in 1936.
She became an overnight sensation.
ROYAL LIFE v LOVE: Edward VIII’s accession came on the death of his father, George V, on January 20, 1936.
Before her second divorce Wallis reportedly said: “Soon I shall be Queen of England.”
Edward gave up the throne to marry Wallis, plunging the Royal Family into crisis and forcing his unprepared brother and young wife to become King and Queen to save the monarchy.
Wallis and Edward married on June 3, 1937. No member of Edward’s family were there.
They became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
CHILDREN: None.
BOOKS: Duke wrote whinging book about life in exile, including barbed comments about his brother and wife, as well as his father.
FEUD WITH FAMILY: The relationship between Edward and King George VI broke down totally.