Royal historian Hugo Vickers’ new biography claims Prince Philip used a blunt two-word nickname for Meghan Markle and compared her to the infamous Wallis Simpson
Prince Philip reportedly had a brutal two-word nickname for Meghan Markle (Image: Savion Washington, Getty Images)
The late Prince Philip was well known for his blunt speaking style and frequent public blunders. The late Queen’s Greek-born husband had a particular reputation for making insensitive comments to those he perceived as “foreign,” famously asking indigenous Australians if they were “still throwing spears” and describing some substandard electrical work as appearing as though it was “put in by an Indian.”
The prince’s notorious directness even extended to his own family. According to royal historian Hugo Vickers, who has recently released a new biography of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Philip regularly used a dismissive two-word nickname when referring to his grandson’s wife.
In his latest book, Hugo discloses that Philip would simply call Meghan Markle ‘The American’. He also notes that the Queen had once “torn Meghan off a strip” after she had been rude to one of the royal gardeners.
Nevertheless, during an appearance on the Daily Telegraph’s royal podcast, Hugo tactfully refused to respond when royal commentator Camilla Tominey asked whether he believed Philip had “seen through Meghan’s theatrical ways”.
Prince Philip, who passed away in April 2021 just two months before his 100th birthday, had previously drawn comparisons between Meghan and another divisive royal figure from an earlier era, privately dubbing her ‘DoW’, his shorthand for ‘Duchess of Windsor’, in reference to Wallis Simpson.
Philip likened Meghan to Edward VIII’s wife, Wallis Simpson, pictured here with the late Queen (left) and Philip (right)(Image: Getty)
Speaking on GB News, royal expert Ingrid Seward suggested that Philip believed Meghan had an “uncanny” likeness to Wallis, whose relationship with King Edward VIII triggered one of the most seismic upheavals in royal history. The Queen’s uncle Edward renounced the throne in order to marry the twice-divorced American socialite.
“He wasn’t simply referring to the fact that both were pencil-slim, dark-haired and glamorous American divorcees,” Ingrid said.
She added: “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.
“I think he just couldn’t get away from the fact [of the] similarities between Meghan and Harry and Edward and Mrs Simpson.
“There are so many similarities which is why he used to call her The Duchess of Windsor, I mean not to her face.”
Philip was reportedly not a fan of Meghan(Image: Getty)
In her 2023 book exploring King Charles’s bond with the late Queen, My Mother and I, Ingrid wrote: “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.”
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has stated that there has always been a “huge level” of unconscious bias within the Royal Family, and that it was only after experiencing life “in his wife’s shoes” for a period that he started to recognise the inherent racial prejudice amongst people from his social circle.
Prince Harry has spoken of an unconscious bias within the Royal Family(Image: Getty)
In an interview with Black Lives Matter activist Patrick Hutchinson, published in GQ magazine, Harry lauded the movement as “incredibly important” and revealed that for some time he had been completely unaware that unconscious bias was prevalent within society.
“Unconscious bias, from my understanding, having the upbringing and the education that I had, I had no idea what it was,” Harry said. “I had no idea it existed. And then, sad as it is to say, it took me many, many years to realise it, especially then living a day or a week in my wife’s shoes.”
He went on to suggest that prejudice was “learned from the older generation, or from advertising, from your environment”.
“Unless we acknowledge we are part of this cycle, then we’re always going to be fighting against it,” Harry added.