A popular, playful prince falls in love with a strong-willed US divorcee, who ends up vilified by a hostile British press. In Harry and Meghan, some royal watchers see echoes of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, the couple at the heart of the abdication crisis eight decades ago. But does the comparison hold up? It could do if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex end up reliving the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's tormented exile.
In December 1936, The King gave up his throne and an Empire of half a billion souls so he could wed a woman who was divorcing her second husband.
The public vitriol spewed on his bride-to-be, Wallis Simpson, might strike a chord with the latest American to marry into Britain's royal family.
On top of being condemned as a social climber from a Baltimore, Maryland, row-house, Simpson was reviled as a cheap adventuress, a lesbian, a nymphomaniac, a Nazi spy and a hermaphrodite.
She was portrayed as a sexual enchantress who supposedly learned "ancient Chinese skills" in the brothels of Shanghai, where her first husband, a US Navy pilot, had been stationed.
But the media's attacks on Simpson weren't just in print.
Daily Express reporters hurled bricks through the window of her rented Regent's Park, London, home, the newspaper's owner, Lord Beaverbrook, would later acknowledge.
As the abdication crisis loomed, Simpson fled to France, pursued across the country by reporters to Cannes.
She evaded this "ravenous besieging army", as she described them, in car chases and sometimes by crawling through bathroom windows.
Anne Sebba, author of That Woman, the Life of Wallis Simpson, says Harry and Meghan's decision to step back from royal duties is nowhere near as constitutionally seismic given that Simpson was accused of almost destroying the British monarchy and Empire.
Sebba tells the BBC: "We're not living in 1936 when people were terrified about divorced women.
"They thought it was going to herald a wicked society where everyone would get divorced.
"But the really big difference is that Edward was King and Harry is sixth in line to the throne - he's never going to be King."
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have released extensive details on their post-royal future, including a “saddening” split from Buckingham Palace staff and clarification on the ownership of “Sussex Royal.”
“We are pleased to now be able to share with you an update on many of the details agreed at a meeting of The Royal Family in January 2020, which outlines The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new roles, taking effect Spring 2020,” read the statement posted to the couple’s website Sussex Royal on Friday night.
Regarding their plans to run a non-profit organization, the couple wrote, “...Given the specific UK government rules surrounding use of the word ‘Royal’, it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organization will not utilize the name ‘Sussex Royal’ or any other iteration of ‘Royal.’”
The couple, who withdrew relevant trademark applications, added, “While there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word ‘Royal’ overseas. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ or any iteration of the word ‘Royal’ in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020.”
Queen Elizabeth said she was pleased to have found a “constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family” and wished the couple well on “building a happy and peaceful new life.”
The Duchess of Sussex's best friend has begun making plans for a series of international charities in Harry and Meghan's name.
Fashion stylist Jessica Mulroney, whose children were pageboys and a flower girl at the Duke and Duchess's wedding in 2018, registered the website sussexglobalcharities.com last Wednesday through her charity the Shoebox Project Foundation, which supports vulnerable women.
It comes after the Duke and Duchess were told they would no longer be able to use their Sussex Royal brand when they officially quit the monarchy next month.
Earlier this year, The Mail on Sunday revealed how Andrew Meyer, the Duchess's US business manager, registered two websites, archefoundation.com and archefoundation.org, on October 23, 2018 – just eight days after Meghan revealed she was pregnant.
In September, he renewed the trademark for The Tig, her lifestyle blog which was shut down in 2017.
It seems Queen Elizabeth shut down one of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s requests as part of their newly agreed-upon transition—at least according to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s latest statement.
Shortly after it was announced that Harry and Meghan may no longer be allowed to use the term "royal" for their website and charitable ventures, an update on their transition was posted to their website Sussexroyal.com.
On Friday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a statement with new details on their future plans—including that their wish to continue to represent Queen Elizabeth appears to have been denied.
“The preference of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex was to continue to represent and support Her Majesty The Queen albeit in a more limited capacity, while not drawing on the Sovereign Grant,” part of the statement reads.
However, they go on to say that the couple actually cannot perform duties on behalf of the 93-year-old monarch. “Per the agreement, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties and not undertake representative duties on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.”
What does this mean exactly? Well, it seems as though Meghan and Harry were willing to continue representing the queen but simply just are no longer allowed to do so, and are reiterating that the discussions did not end in the way they had hoped.
The drama in the royal family never seems to stop, amirite? Just when it seemed like everyone was finally getting over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle formally stepping back from their senior royal duties, there's a brand new issue that's allegedly causing Queen Elizabeth II to be annoyed—this time, about the news of the Sussex Royal trademark removal.
You may recall that since Meghan and Harry stepped back from their senior royal duties, they're no longer going to trademark Sussex Royal. This means that all of their trademark applications, the recent redesign of their website, their merchandise, and yes, their Instagram handle, will have to change.
In response to the trademark rejection, Meghan and Harry issued a statement on their website. They wrote:
“While The Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organisation, given the specific UK government rules surrounding the use of the word ‘Royal,’ it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organisation will not utilise the name ‘Sussex Royal’ or any other iteration of ‘Royal.’ For the above reason, the trademark applications that had been filed as protective measures and that reflected the same standard trademarking requests as done for The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been removed.”
Turns out, Meghan and Harry's public response to the news pissed the Queen off. “She’s so disappointed that her own grandchild would heap so much embarrassment on the monarchy and bring all this unwanted attention on his family at the worst possible time,” a source told Us Weekly, meaning that tensions between Meghan, Harry, and the Queen could be running high yet again.