Prince Philip's nickname for Meghan Markle that he 'never said to her face' revealed

The late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh reportedly had a rather cutting nickname for Meghan Markle, likening her to another American divorcee who married into the Royal Family, according to a royal commentator.

Prince Philip, who passed away in 2021, was said to be "wary" of the former actress from Suits and saw parallels with Wallis Simpson, the wife of the former King Edward VIII, who became the Duke of Windsor when he abdicated the throne in 1936.

The comparison between Meghan and Wallis Simpson, both American divorcees when they wed into the royals, has been drawn before, but it's claimed that Philip took it a step further by bestowing a nickname on Meghan, though he never used it in her presence.

Prince Philip taught the trick to his grandchildren
The late Duke of Edinburgh was famed for his no-nonsense attitude -Credit:Getty

Royal author and expert Ingrid Seward has shared that Prince Philip noticed "similarities" between Meghan and the late Duchess of Windsor and gave her a moniker that connected the two.

In a conversation with GB News, she remarked: "I think Prince Philip was very canny about people and he didn't always see the bad in them, he tried to see the good in them. I think he just couldn't get away from the fact [of the] similarities between Meghan and Harry and Edward and Mrs Simpson."

Wallis Simpson
Meghan reportedly gained a nickname which tied to Wallis Simpson -Credit:Corbis via Getty Images

She continued: "There are so many similarities which is why he used to call her The Duchess of Windsor, I mean not to her face. We used to call her dow - DoW [the abbreviation for Duchess of Windsor]."

In her revealing book, My Mother and I, Ingrid shared that the late Prince Philip was "wary" of Meghan Markle, noting: "One of the few wary of succumbing to (Meghan's) charm offensive... was Prince Philip. From the moment he detected her apparent similarity to Wallis, he referred to her as DoW."

She further disclosed that Prince Philip had tagged Meghan as 'disruptive' within the Royal Family, while his wife, the late Queen Elizabeth II, remained hopeful, harbouring "high hopes" for Meghan.

Since stepping back from Royal duties in 2020, Meghan and Harry have made their home in California, where they live with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Although Harry is set to return to the UK next month to mark a decade of the Invictus Games, it is believed that Meghan will remain stateside due to safety concerns and a desire to avoid any 'drama' that might arise from a UK visit.

Meghan's visits to the UK have been sparse since the couple's Royal exit, attending only significant events such as Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in 2022. Notably, she was absent from King Charles III's coronation last year, an event Harry attended solo.