Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior working royals in 2020
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be facing a similar fate as a royal couple that came before them.
Tom Quinn, author of the newly-released book Gilded Youth, drew similarities between the life lived by former King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson after he abdicated and the possible future of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, via Express.co.uk.
According to the Quinn, a common theme that the two couples seemingly have is ‘how badly they were treated.’ He added that people would stay interested in this topic only ‘for so long.’
“And when you’re not saying that anymore, and you can’t make any more films and interviews about how badly you’ve been treated, what then, what do you do?” he said. “My fear is that Harry will become like Edward VIII and Meghan will become like Mrs Simpson.”
King Edward VIII met and fell in love with Wallis Simpson, a two-time divorcee. Edward took the throne for nearly a year but abdicated it so that he could marry Wallis. They tied the knot in a small ceremony in France without any family present.
They were given the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor – although King George VI did not style Simpson as Her Royal Highness.
Quinn said that while the couple “lived in this beautiful house in France, but we know they were desperately unhappy.”
He continued, “Edward VIII was a bit like King Lear, where he gives away all his power, but somehow thinks he can still exercise power through his children. And I think Edward VIII, when he abdicated and went to live in France, thought he would still be an important figure.
“And he was for a little while, in the same way that Meghan and Harry are kind of significant now because there’s so much coverage and commentary about them.”
However, Quinn surmised that the publicity “will fade and, unless they can escape all this negative stuff and find something positive that people are interested in, they will become insignificant in the way that Edward VIII became insignificant and very unhappy.”