Prince Harry & Meghan: Striking Similarities To Edward VIII & Wallis

This weekend in his Daily Headline News, royal commentator Neil Sean looked at how history repeats itself with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Well, as time went by, the striking similarities between Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson became more obvious, especially when it comes to Netflix. Read on for an interesting dive into history and modern-day events.

Taking A Similar Path

As Sean often says on his show, “nothing’s really new.” He explained that ever since silent movies, “all the ideas were done and they’re redone even today.” In his opinion that also applies to the paths taken the former King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, and the current Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Sean highlighted that the “box office is always gold if you get the right people.” The principle of public appeal and marketability was as true for the abdicated Edward and Mrs. Simpson as it is for Harry and Meghan today.

Edward famously “gave up the opportunity to become king for ‘the woman that I loved.”‘ Neil Sean pointed out that “there are so many echoes of the story with Megan and Harry.” The most obvious one was that he “gave everything up as Harry has done.”

However, it doesn’t end there, and there’s a bit of history on repeat right now that seems fascinating. Harry was not likely to become king like Edward did, but many of their joint experiences do have striking similarities.

The TV Route

While the parallels are strong, Sean noted a difference between Wallis Simpson and Meghan Markle. “Wallace was never really that keen on doing too much work.” Instead, “she much liked socializing, having cocktails and meeting… famous people. That was enough for her.” 

Sean highlighted the differences between the two women, but also the similarities with regards to TV appearances. In the 1950s, Edward and Wallis sat down with Edward R. Murrow for his TV show, Person to Person. The show was groundbreaking, being “the very first time that you’d seen what we’d describe now as link-up satellite.”

Morrow, whom Sean called “an amazing interviewer,” had a relaxed style that “got you off guard” and allowed him to “get a very good interview out of the ex-King and Wally Simpson.”  Notably, unlike Meghan Markle, Wallis “didn’t really say too much,” but the ex-King certainly did.

The network was so “thrilled” with the interview that they proposed a lucrative summer season deal: the Duke would interview various guests over a six-week period, similar to the “Netflix deal and Harry and Megan.”

The Former King Messed Up

Much like Meghan and Prince Harry, the networks were keen on him rather than his wife. The amount of money on offer was good; equivalent to about a million dollars nowadays. Like Harry and Meghan, the couple had “burned through money.” Despite this, Edward insisted that Wallis sit in on every interview, and the savvy network hated the idea.

In fact, they wanted to edit her out, but the former royal wasn’t interested in that. From his perspective, it was Wallis or nothing. Sound familiar? Neil explained that the network quietly told the former king that they only wanted him without his wife. And once again, for “the woman that he loved,” Edward chose to “turn it away,” forsaking the million-dollar opportunity.

Sean concluded by reflecting that “it doesn’t matter what decade you’re from or what royalty you’re from. If you don’t get the value of money, well, you simply don’t get it.” But then he wondered, if it is “all about love,” or some other ego thing.

Royal Family Fans React

After they watched the vlog, many people were struck by the similarities between Prince Harry and Meghan and King Edward, particularly their failure to manage their finances well. Of course, they also noted that unlike Wallis, the Duchess of Sussex isn’t sitting quietly and saying nothing.

One commenter wrote, “Two very weak men indeed.” Here are a few other reactions:

• It sounds like Edward was co-dependent on Wallis, just like Harry is with M.
• The similarities between Edward and Mrs. Simpson and Harry and Megan are really quite unbelievable, you’re right though – Nothing is new! It’s Crazy!
• IMO it boils down to stupidity and forced dependency. Everyone must be able to stand on their own because you never know what the future holds.

What are your thoughts on the similarities when it comes to missed opportunities like Netflix and lost chances for both Prince Harry and King Edward VIII? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for all your Royal Family news and updates.