How similar is the Harry and Meghan situation to abdicated King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson?

As the Royal Family debate how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle fit into King Charles’ coronation following their decision to step back from royal duties and move across the pond to Montecito, the Firm could look no further than their history books to see that this is not the first time a similar situation has come about.

The Duke of Sussex’s actions echoes that of his great-granduncle Edward VIII who abdicated from his role as King for a new life in 1936. It must be noted that although Harry chose his self-imposed exile as opposed to Edward’s banishment, the similarities between the pair are almost uncanny.

Before Edward’s coronation and short-lived reign, he was ‘charming and informal…a popular prince’, according to The History Press, while Prince Harry was voted the most likeable Royal in 2018, dropping only to second place behind the Queen a year later.

Both Harry and Edward were more renowned for their love of parties and dancing more than their inclination for school but were both able to change their ways after joining the army.

Prince Harry spoke about his military career in his tell-all memoir Spare including his desire to serve on the front lines which ended up as two tours in Afghanistan. Harry’s drive to serve his country echoes that of his great-granduncle who joined the army as World War I started and was keen to fight - although he was allowed to serve eventually after initially being denied by the Secretary of State for War, he revealed he was ‘too ashamed’ to wear his military medals as he had ‘always been kept well out of danger.’

Despite these similarities, the most striking parallel between the relatives is that they both met American women through mutual friends who went on to change their lives.

While Edward VIII met Wallis Simpson at a party and remained friends for years before tying the knot, Harry and Meghan enjoyed a whirlwind romance after their friend set them up on a blind date. 

Wallis Simpson and Meghan Markle not only had the same nationality, but the empowered divorced women were both central figures in the British press receiving both scrutiny and praise from the papers.

As Harry and Edward took their romance to the next level, it came at the cost of their brotherly relationships with Harry facing strife with Prince William and Edward falling out of touch with the late Elizabeth II’s father, King George VI.

The gap between the respective brothers grew even further as Edward and Wallis Simpson did not attend an official public ceremony in 31 years following his abdication in conjunction with Harry and Meghan making their last appearance as working royals in March 2020.

Despite Harry and Edward returning for respective funerals, namely Prince Philip’s in April 2021, Queen Elizabeth’s last year and her father’s some 70 years prior, the tension between the men and the Firm was obvious.

In light of this, Prince Harry may have been inspired to tell his side of the story through his Netflix documentary and memoir by Edward who too created his own book named ‘A King’s Story’.