According to a royal expert, the late Prince Philip had a rather pointed nickname for the Duchess of Sussex, and it wasn’t so kind.
The nickname suggested a comparison to Wallis Simpson, the controversial wife of the former King Edward VIII, drawing parallels between Meghan Markle and Wallis, both American and divorced when they married into the royal family.
Prince Philip supposedly referred to Meghan with a name that made reference to this connection.
Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII
Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée who became the Duchess of Windsor, was one of the most controversial royal figures in recent history after King Edward VIII decided to abdicate the throne in December 1936 (after less than a year as a monarch) to be able to marry her.
At the time, royals were prohibited from entering into a marriage with a divorced person – a rule that did not change until 2002, just three years before the then-Prince Charles married Camilla, per the Royal Observer.
Following King Edward and Wallis Simpson’s marriage, they were not allowed to return home without the permission of his brother, the new King George VI, as there were fears it could potentially cause public unrest, Vogue detailed.
During their years of exile, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor constantly attracted headlines – with one of their most shocking incidents occurring in 1937 when they visited Nazi Germany and were photographed giving the notorious Nazi salute upon meeting Adolf Hitler.
Prince Philip’s brutal nickname
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward shed light on Prince Philip’s perspective during an interview with GB News, suggesting that he thought Meghan and Wallis Simpson had many similarities, leading to the adoption of a discreet nickname for the Duchess of Sussex.
Allegedly Prince Philip, who Seward says was known for his astute judgment of character, couldn’t overlook the resemblances between Meghan and Prince Harry and Edward and Mrs. Simpson.
“I think that Prince Philip was very canny about people and he didn’t always see bad in people, he often tried to see the good in them,” Seward said.
“He just could not get away from the similarities between Meghan and Harry and Edward and Ms Simpson, which his why he used to call her the Duchess of Windsor. Not to her face though, he used to call her DOW,” she added.
In her book ‘My Mother and I‘, Seward delved further into Prince Philip’s reservations about Meghan, describing him as “wary” of the former Suits actress and her potential impact on the royal family.
While Prince Philip saw Meghan as potentially disruptive, Queen Elizabeth II held “high hopes” for her, indicating differing perspectives within the royal family regarding Meghan’s role and influence.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left royal life
Since stepping back from their royal duties in 2020 and relocating to California, Meghan and Harry have maintained a relatively low profile within the royal sphere.
While Harry is set to visit the UK for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, with a service to be held at St. Paul’s Cathedral on May 8, according to the Daily Express. Meghan is expected to remain in the US, citing safety concerns and a desire to avoid stirring up controversy.
Despite occasional returns to the UK for significant events like Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022, Meghan has opted out of attending others, such as King Charles III’s coronation, which Harry attended alone last year.
It’s clear that Meghan is choosing to prioritizing her safety and peace amidst constant scrutiny and public interest in her relationship with the royal family.
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Mary Lou Retton Has Pneumonia and ‘Is Fighting for Her Life,’ Daughter Says
The gymnastics champion sprang to stardom at the 1984 Olympics, where she became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the all-around competition. Her family is raising money online, saying she lacks health insurance.
May Lou Retton at the 1984 Olympics, where she won five medals.
Mary Lou Retton, who became one of the most popular athletes in the country after winning the all-around women’s gymnastics competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, has pneumonia and is “fighting for her life” in the intensive care unit, her daughter said in a statement this week.
Retton’s daughter McKenna Lane Kelley said on Instagram that her mother “is not able to breathe on her own” and that she had been in the intensive care unit for more than a week.
Kelley asked for donations to help pay for her mother’s hospital bills, saying her mother lacked health insurance. By Wednesday, she had raised more than $260,000 online from more than 4,600 donors.
She did not share more specific information about her mother’s condition, though she said that her pneumonia was “a very rare form.” It was not clear what hospital Retton was in.
Kelley, who was a gymnast at Louisiana State University, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, another daughter, Shayla Kelley Schrepfer, released a video on Instagram thanking people for “all the love and support that you’ve given to my mom.”
“She’s still fighting,” Schrepfer said. “It’s going to be a day-by-day process, and we hope that you guys will respect her boundaries, as we want to keep the details between her and our family right now. She has been treated with the best of the best professionals here, and it has been such a blessing to have their hands on her.”
At the 1984 Olympics, Retton became the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal or any individual Olympic medal in gymnastics. Going into the final rotation of the competition, she was five-hundredths of a point behind Romania’s Ecaterina Szabo, and the only way she could beat Szabo was to score a perfect 10 on vault.
Retton scored a perfect 10.
She won five medals in Los Angeles, including two silvers, for team and vault, and two bronzes, for uneven bars and floor exercise.
Though there was an asterisk by Retton’s victory in the history books — the Soviet Union, which was the most dominant force in women’s gymnastics at the time, boycotted the 1984 Games — it nonetheless made her a sports hero in the United States. In addition to earning her the traditional trappings of Olympic gold, like appearing on a Wheaties box, she was widely viewed as an inspiration to a new generation of American girls entering gymnastics.
Even as the American gymnastics program grew and the country won more medals, including the team gold in 1996, Retton’s prominence remained: For 20 years, Retton, now 55, was the only American woman to win the all-around title, until Carly Patterson became the second in 2004.
Retton was born in Fairmont, W.Va., and got her start early, like many top gymnasts. By the time Retton was 7 years old, she was training in gymnastics full-time.
Retton’s talent had been apparent from the start, but a big break came at an Olympics elimination tournament in Reno, Nev., in 1982, where she impressed Bela Karolyi, who would go on to coach her in the 1984 Olympics.
“I immediately recognized the tremendous physical potential of this little kid,” Karolyi said in a March 1984 interview.
Retton appeared in a number of films and TV shows in the late 1980s and 1990s, including the comedy film “Scrooged.”
After her athletic career, Retton became a motivational speaker to promote the benefits of proper nutrition and regular exercise.
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