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Meghan Markle is often likened to Wallis Simpson, but according to one author, it’s not the American divorcees who deserve scrutiny — it’s the husbands who married them.
Hugo Vickers has written a new book, “Behind Closed Doors,” which examines the shocking final years of the Duchess of Windsor, who died in 1986 at the age of 89.
The royal historian told Fox News Digital that while writing his book, he uncovered striking and troubling parallels between Prince Harry and Edward, Duke of Windsor — the late Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle — who abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson.
PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE CAUSED ‘UNFORGIVABLE’ STRESS FOR QUEEN ELIZABETH IN FINAL YEARS: AUTHOR
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, attends The Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service, his passion project, at St. Paul’s Cathedral on May 8, 2024, in London. The younger son of King Charles III stepped back as a senior royal in 2020. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
“… The one thing in common is that the two husbands both look pretty miserable,” Vickers claimed. “If you look at photographs of the Duke of Windsor in old age … I’ve never seen such sad eyes on a man because of what happened. In both cases, they decided not to do the duty which they had been born to undertake.”
“When I give talks occasionally, usually at schools, I show a picture of the queen, our Queen Elizabeth II, with sparkling eyes at the age of 90, having done her duty and feeling the calm, level gaze, conscious of duty fulfilled, as somebody put it,” he said. “Whereas the Duke of Windsor looked pathetic, and he looked very sad. And Prince Harry also looks very, very sad most of the time and rather angry.”
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, delivered a speech during the Kyiv Security Forum in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 23, 2026. He also participated in a panel discussion featuring Ukrainian veterans. “I will always be part of the royal family,” he later said. “I am here working, doing the things I was born to do.” (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Harry, 41, has been estranged from his family since he and his wife stepped back as senior royals in 2020. They cited unbearable intrusions by the British press and a lack of support from the palace for their decision to exit.
Since moving to California, the couple have aired their grievances in interviews and documentaries. Harry’s 2021 memoir “Spare,” which laid bare details about the House of Windsor, worsened tensions.
A person watches the Duke of Sussex being interviewed by ITV’s Tom Bradby during “Harry: The Interview” at home in Edinburgh on Jan. 8, 2023, two days before the release of his autobiography “Spare.” (Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)
Today, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are still working to define their post-royal identities. Vickers said Meghan, the former American actress, has had a far smoother ride than Harry.
“Meghan Markle is much more in control of her destiny than Wallis was,” said Vickers. “Wallis became a wife and, to be fair to her, she wrote a book of memoirs. She gave one or two interviews, but she was very discreet, to be quite honest. She was very much in the background.”
“Behind Closed Doors: The Tragic, Untold Story of the Duchess of Windsor” by Hugo Vickers is available. (Pegasus Books)
“… Meghan Markle is completely different,” he continued. “She is using her title and her name to market things. … She’s been selling products and the like. … I just personally don’t think Prince Harry looks happy. My theory is that he is terrified of losing her, which is a very understandable syndrome to get into.”
British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard agreed.
The Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, holds his book titled “A King’s Story: The Memoirs of the Duke of Windsor,” circa 1951. (Erika Stone/Getty Images)
“It’s safe to say that both husbands wanted out of the institution,” she explained to Fox News Digital. “Edward VIII didn’t want to be king, and Prince Harry wanted freedom from the royal family. Their ‘get out of jail’ cards were their strong partners. How can we forget Harry and Meghan’s ‘freedom flight’ video shown in their Netflix documentary as they gleefully relinquished their royal duties?”
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The 72-year-old former King Edward VIII and his Maryland-born wife, 70, are seen here ending their annual visit to America to attend a family ceremony in London at the invitation of the duke’s niece, Queen Elizabeth II. (Getty Images)
“The tides have possibly changed,” said Chard. “Harry and Meghan built their exit. However, it doesn’t guarantee safety or peace. Prince Harry continuously worries about Meghan, his family, their safety and media backlash. He seems to be reverting to what he knows and enjoys, his previous royal life.”
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, participates in the Scar Tree Walk with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, on April 16, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia, during their royal visit. (Jonathan Brady-Pool/Getty Images)
During an unannounced visit to Ukraine on April 24, Harry was asked about being “not a working royal.” He replied, “I will always be part of the royal family. … I am here working, doing the things I was born to do.”
That same month, Harry and Meghan spent four days in Australia, where Harry’s father, King Charles, is the head of state.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pose for selfies with members of the public beneath the steps of the Sydney Opera House in Australia on April 17, 2026. (Saeed Khan/AFP)
“Looking ahead, Meghan’s trajectory seems firmly anchored in monetizing her proximity to the monarchy,” Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube’s “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered,” told Fox News Digital.
“I predict a long-term strategy focused on influence, media and commercial ventures, versus any form of royal reconciliation in traditional terms,” Schofield said. “For Harry, his long-term positioning still feels less defined. He has leaned heavily into advocacy and legacy projects, but there’s an ongoing tension between his royal identity and his post-royal reality. That ambiguity can be difficult to sustain over time.”
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, sits in the audience before a Q&A session during a visit to Movember at the Western Bulldogs headquarters at Mission Whitten Oval in Melbourne on April 15, 2026. (Jonathan Brady-Pool/Getty Images)
Majesty magazine’s editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward previously claimed that Prince Philip, Harry’s grandfather, gave Meghan the nickname “DoW,” shorthand for Duchess of Windsor, The Telegraph reported. According to the outlet, the name came “from the moment he detected her apparent similarity to Wallis.”
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Meghan Markle is seen here being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on March 8, 2021. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Meghan’s star power also may have worked against her inside the royal family.
“The most successful members of the royal family are those who support the monarch without competing with him or her,” Vickers said. “That’s what they do. People like Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. She is a classic example. Catherine, Princess of Wales, likewise, does not compete with her husband, does not compete with the queen, does not compete with the king. Camilla actually also does not compete with the king. She supports him.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are raising their two young children in California. (Jonathan Brady-Pool/Getty Images)
Vickers noted that while Harry attempts to embrace a laid-back California life years later, Edward didn’t let go of the past. Wallis surrounded him with reminders of the crown he left behind.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor are pictured here in Ashdown Forest, Sussex, England, date unknown. (Getty Images)
“If Wallis made a mistake, it was to almost become the epitome of a royal duchess,” he said. “[Their] house in Paris, which I went to many times, was filled with evidence of royal life. There were lots of coronets all over the place. There were portraits of Queen Mary and lots of pictures of the duchess and footmen in livery and that sort of thing. It was like she created for him a miniature court in exile.”
While Harry may be privately looking back, Meghan, 44, is more focused on her future.
Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand As Ever officially launched on April 2, 2025. (Jonathan Brady-Pool/Getty Images)
“Meghan didn’t fully grasp the institutional reality of marrying into the royal family,” said Schofield. “That’s not unusual. The monarchy isn’t just a family. It’s a centuries-old constitutional machine with high expectations, limited personal autonomy and a hierarchy that doesn’t bend easily to modern celebrity culture. Meghan approached it with a more Hollywood-adjacent framework, where personal brand, narrative control and visibility are assets. Inside the monarchy, those same instincts can be liabilities.”
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Meghan Markle, an American actress, became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Britain’s Prince Harry in 2018. (Aaron Chown/PA Images)
“Both Meghan and Wallis entered the orbit of the monarchy as outsiders, Americans, divorced,” Schofield shared. “Both were perceived as disruptive. And in both cases, the relationship dynamic appears to have reinforced an ‘us versus them’ mentality with their partners.”
“But there are also key differences that shouldn’t be glossed over,” Schofield continued. “Wallis was dealing with a monarchy in a far more rigid, pre-war context, where divorce and public perception carry existential consequences for the crown. Meghan entered a modernized institution that had already weathered divorce, media scrutiny and evolving public expectations. While Wallis triggered a constitutional crisis, Meghan’s situation became more of a reputational and cultural crisis.”
American socialite Wallis Simpson posed for a portrait a week before King Edward VIII abdicated. She became Duchess of Windsor in June 1937 after marrying Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor. (Fayer/Getty Images)
A source recently told People magazine that the couple is “not reliant on Harry’s father or taxpayer-funded money.” Their goal is to remain independent.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, greet members of the public at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney on April 17, 2026, during their four-day visit to Australia. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“They pay their own bills and make their own money while continuing to support a lot of causes that might otherwise go unseen. It enables them to do what they love doing,” said the insider.
“They’re trying to live their life, raise their children [Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4], do meaningful work and earn a living.”
Prince Harry (left) and Prince William (right) attend the unveiling of a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, at The Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace, London on July 1, 2021, which would have been her 60th birthday. Royal experts told Fox News Digital the last time the brothers spoke was in 2022 during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. (Dominic Lipinski/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chard suggested that, much like his ancestor, Harry is deeply devoted to Meghan and their family. However, it will come as no surprise if he still quietly grieves the life he walked away from.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, delivers a speech during the Kyiv Security Forum in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 23, 2026. He also participates in a panel discussion featuring Ukrainian veterans at the 18th Kyiv Security Forum. (Andrii Khodkov/Apostrophe/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images)
“[Wallis and Meghan] both earned independently before marrying into the family, and both landed husbands who completely doted on them,” said Chard. “I’d go as far as saying both husbands feared losing their wives and would do absolutely anything not to lose them.”