While the late Queen initially had high hopes for Meghan Markle when she first started dating Prince Harry, her husband Prince Philip was apparently less sure and shared his concerns with the monarch

Prince Philip had concerns about Meghan Markle when she first appeared on the scene, and issued a warning to the Queen at the time, according to a royal expert.

While Her Majesty initially had high hopes for Harry’s future wife, Philip, who passed away in 2021, is said to have been “wary” of the former ‘Suits’ star and saw parallels with Wallis Simpson, another American divorcee who married into the British Royal family .

Writing in her book ‘My Mother and I’, royal author Ingrid Seward explained: “Soon the country as a whole seemed to take to Meghan with equally genuine delight. One of the few wary of succumbing to her charm offensive, however, was Prince Philip. While the Queen continued to champion Harry’s new love, he warned his wife to be cautious.

“Queen Elizabeth II was perfectly aware of what Philip meant when he drew parallels between Meghan and Wallis. Indeed, much later, she would remark in her clipped way that perhaps Harry had been ‘too in love’ with the American actress.”

The royal commentator later stated that Philip had a nickname for Meghan based on her similarities with Wallis – but never shared it with her directly or uttered it in her presence. During an interview with GB News, Seward 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.”

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].”

Meghan and Harry stepped back from the royal family in January 2020 and left the UK to live in California, where they currently reside with their two children. Whilst Harry will visit the UK next month to celebrate 10 years of the Invictus Games, it’s thought that Meghan will stay in the US amid safety concerns and not wanting to attract ‘drama’ by visiting the UK.

Meghan has made very few trips back to the UK since the pair stepped back from their royal duties in 2020. While she was in attendance at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022, she did not return for King Charles III’s coronation last year, which Harry attended alone.

“I’m of the opinion that Megan won’t set foot in the UK ever again,” Charles Rae, former royal correspondent for The Sun, previously said. “I just don’t think she wants her to have anything to do at all with this country.

“I don’t believe that she understood the pecking order of the royal family. You’ve got the monarch, you’ve got the Prince of Wales And then you’ve got everyone else under that. She wanted to be the star and that I think it was that simple that she thought. She just picked up her toys and decided to go off to America.”