Megxit: Did Prince Philip confront Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from royal duties at the beginning of 2020, many were critical of the couple. While stepping back from the crown is not unheard of, the reasoning behind Harry & Meghan’s decision is what is drawing criticism.
However, one person heavily critical of their decision, according to royal insider Ingrid Seward, is Prince Philip. Spending the majority of his life serving the crown, Prince Philip allegedly “cannot understand” why Harry would decide to step down from his duties as Duke of Sussex.
Philip tried to talk Prince Harry and Meghan Markle out of their decision to step down, but his advice “fell on deaf ears” according to royal insiders. Why was he so adamant about trying to stop the Sussexes from stepping down?
Outsider advising outsiders
When Prince Philip married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947, he was quickly seen as an outsider to the crown. To fight the criticism, Philip proved his loyalty to not only the crown, but his wife. Quickly, the tides turned in Philip’s favor, and he became an essential part of the crown.
Since then, Philip has offered advice to the spouses who marry into the crown. According to Ingrid Seward, Prince Philip was brutally honest with Princess Diana, reminding her “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.”
Similarly, Philip also advised Meghan Markle before she married Prince Harry and even welcomed her at the beginning. Seward told Fox News “I think that Philip really understood that Meghan was going to find royal life difficult.” He tried to stay on the right foot with Meghan, but as the Sussexes broke off their relationship with the rest of the royals, Philip’s opinion of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle soured.
Did he confront the Sussexes?
Ingrid Seward, in her Prince Philip biography Prince Philip Revealed, shares how loyal Philip is to Queen Elizabeth II. “Philip has always been very protective of the Queen so if anyone upsets her, they upset her, they upset him too.” When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were looking toward stepping away from the crown, Philip tried to talk them out of their decision.
As Seward puts it, “Philip’s way is that he says his bit, and then steps back from the situation because he doesn’t like to interfere.” Once it was clear Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were going to ignore Prince Philip, he stopped trying to convince the Sussexes to stay.
Philip’s relationship to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has taken a major hit thanks to their decision to step down. While Philip’s relationship with Meghan has been breaking down overtime thanks to her choice to break royal tradition, Prince Harry’s relationship with Philip quickly deteriorated after his decision to step down.
Still unable to comprehend
Even now, Prince Philip “cannot understand how Harry has behaved the way he has done,” according to Seward. Philip remains “deeply upset” over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping back from the crown.
It’s important to remember Philip has spent his entire life being dedicated to the royal family and his duties as Duke of Edinbergh. When researching for the biography, Ingrid Seward learned Philip’s unofficial mantra is “the monarchy comes first, second, and third.”
To this day, Philip remains the longest serving partner of a reigning monarch, and has been serving the UK since 1927 when he enlisted in the British Armed Forces. His life is full of public service, so seeing his grandson and granddaughter-in-law step down from such activities is a deep blow.
At the end of the day, Prince Philip has chosen to step back from the family drama at this point in time. While he still “cannot understand why [Meghan] couldn’t support Harry and help him rather than wanting to have her voice”, he is letting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle do whatever they choose.
