It’s not just Prince Harry’s relationship with the Queen that suffered a setback when he and Meghan Markle decided to exit the royal family. Prince Philip’s once close relationship with his grandson has also not recovered, according to a new biography released this week.
Ingrid Seward, author of Prince Philip Revealed, says that the Queen’s husband has been unable to comprehend why Harry, sixth in line to the throne, wanted to leave the royal family. Philip has now “walked away” from the situation after feeling that his advice fell on “deaf ears.”
While he was initially fond of Meghan and made a huge effort to be at the couple’s Windsor wedding despite having undergone a hip operation weeks before, the Duke “harbored doubts” about Harry’s wife. Seward’s book, the first major biography of Philip in over 30 years, reveals that he now compares Meghan to Wallis Simpson, who triggered the abdication crisis when she married the then-King Edward VIII in 1937. “For Philip, whose entire existence has been based on a devotion to doing his duty, it appeared that his grandson had abdicated his for the sake of his marriage to an American divorcee in much the same way as Edward VIII gave up his crown to marry Wallis Simpson in 1936,” Seward writes.
Seward has written more than twelve books on the royal family, and spoke to friends, aides and sources close to the Duke for Prince Philip Revealed. She writes that Philip was deeply upset by Harry and Meghan’s decision to quit the Firm, and could neither understand nor relate to Harry’s decision to leave the royal family. He was also deeply dismayed by how the couple treated the Queen, making the bombshell announcement about their exit on January 8 before consulting Her Majesty, who was in residence at Sandringham.
According to Seward’s book, “The Queen was informed ten minutes before the announcement went live on the website Sussex Royal. She was not amused. As Philip was in residence, he was also aware of the announcement and its implications.”
Speaking to Vanity Fair in an exclusive interview to mark the book’s release this week, Seward said:
“Philip simply cannot understand how Harry has behaved the way he has done. His grandson’s behavior is completely alien to him so not unnaturally the relationship has suffered. Don’t forget this is a man about to turn 100 who has devoted 68 years of his adult life to supporting the monarchy, and this has been a great shock. The Queen would not want him to worry at his age, but Philip’s absence from the Sandringham Summit spoke volumes. The fact that he was driven away from the big house at Sandringham before everyone even arrived signaled he didn’t want to be part of it.”
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While the Queen is head of state, Philip has always been the head of the family, overseeing the running of the royal country estates and family matters. As Seward points out in her book, the Queen allowed Philip, who gave up his military career when they married, to rule the roost at home and he has always been the key decision maker when it comes to family issues. But while Philip tried to guide Harry and his new bride, he felt that his advice was ignored.
“Philip’s way is that he says his bit, and then steps back from the situation because he doesn’t like to interfere,” said Seward. “It was up to Harry and Meghan to listen but they didn’t and Philip has always been very protective of the Queen so if anyone upsets her, they upset him too. His mantra is the monarchy comes first, second, and third. He cuttingly reminded the late Diana, Princess of Wales that being a member of the royal family was not a popularity contest but involved everyone working together for the good of the institution of the monarchy.”
“Philip welcomed Meghan at the beginning, he knows what it’s like to be an outsider, and so he’s always very supportive of people marrying into the family,” Seward added. “He quite liked Meghan at first, but their actions have left a bad taste and as a consequence the relationship with Harry has suffered.”
According to Seward, it is not just Harry’s relationship with his grandfather that has changed since he met Meghan, but also his friendship with his oldest friends known as the “Glosse Posse,” based in Gloucestershire, close to Highgrove where Harry spent much of his childhood.
In Prince Philip Revealed Seward recounts how Harry, who was dating Meghan at the time, was the guest of honor at a shooting weekend in 2018, but pulled out at the last minute because Meghan didn’t want him to slaughter game birds. “At exactly 9 a.m. all the guns were waiting at the door to move off, but no sign of Harry,” Seward writes. “They didn’t quite know what to do so they waited and waited until Harry eventually appeared at the door in his dressing gown looking very sheepish. His embarrassed explanation was that Meghan did not want him to go out with the guns, which was extremely awkward as he was guest of honor.”
The story was relayed to Seward by a source close to the prince. “This is exactly the sort of behavior that led to Harry becoming more estranged from his oldest friends,” Seward said in the interview. “This wasn’t the Harry they knew; he would never have let them down. Harry knows how expensive it is and how much time goes into organizing a shoot. It was very rude and the general feeling was one of disbelief, because it was so out of character.”
In the book Seward points out that Prince Philip would never have put up with such behavior. “In the days when Princess Margaret was married to Tony Armstrong- Jones, he would rudely leave his hand on the horn when Tony was late, which he inevitably was,” she writes. “Philip had to give up shooting after he had a stent inserted in his heart in December 2011. The fear was that the recoil of the gun when it was fired might dislodge the stent. Since then, he has been obsessed with fishing and it has become his main outdoor activity after carriage driving."
While the Duke’s eyesight is failing and he is very hard of hearing, he still loves to fish and also writes letters and loves to read. According to Seward, “He also loves watching cooking programs. He loves Mary Berry. He’s addicted to those cooking programs.”
This year the Duke has been seen in public on a few occasions, posing for a picture with the Queen at Windsor to celebrate his 99th birthday, handing over his role as Colonel in Chief of the Rifles to the Duchess of Cornwall in a short ceremony at Windsor, and attending Princess Beatrice’s wedding this summer.
Added Seward, “He makes a massive effort when he does make an appearance and knows he has to look his best. This might involve several hours of slow preparation and he will get up as early as necessary to ensure he is on time. He’s a proud man, he doesn’t want to be seen with a stick and would never consider a Zimmer frame. He does what he can and he knows there will be an expectation for him to be part of any celebrations for his 100th birthday next year.”
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