Prince Harry’s feud with his family could last forever if history tells us anything, one royal author has claimed.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Express US, Tom Quinn, author of Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family, said Harry’s predicament has a “direct parallel” to that of his great-uncle, King Edward VIII.
Edward abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry American Wallis Simpson in 1936. George VI – Queen Elizabeth’s father – assumed the throne shortly after.
Edward’s intention to marry Simpson and her status as a divorcée caused a constitutional crisis that led to his abdication.
Despite stepping down as King, Edward presumed he would retain a prominent role within the Firm – however, he was sorely mistaken.
Harry now faces a similar reality check.
Quinn explained: “It caused such a break in relations between the new King and the late Queen mother that the rift lasted for the rest of their lives.
“It caused this terrible gulf because both sides felt betrayed.
“Edward just realised that by giving away his role in life, he wouldn’t automatically be given some other job. That was almost as important. He would just be cut off.”
After stepping down as a working royal in 2020 to pursue a life of independence with his American wife, Meghan Markle, the Duke of Sussex has now been given the same cold shoulder.
“Harry thought that when he went to America, and certainly after the Queen died, Charles would would say: ‘Okay, you can be working royals for half the year.'”
He continued: “But after the Oprah interview and the book Spare, Harry’s going to end up exactly like his great uncle living in France bored with nothing to do.”
After the Second World War, Edward spent the rest of his life in France. He and Wallis remained married until his death in 1972; they had no children.
“I think this rift is going to be very difficult to heal”, Quinn added.
The Sussexes’ interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 caused a firestorm.
It was during that now-infamous TV interview where Meghan insinuated a member of the Royal Family was racist towards her.
Despite Harry’s attempts in a later interview to walk back the claims, the monarchy had found itself engulfed in a race row.
Then came the death blow. Earlier this year, Harry released his tell-all memoir, Spare, which was littered with bombshell claims about his family.
