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Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith has recently claimed that Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, shares the same "narcissistic and controlling" qualities as Wallis Simpson, the woman King Edward VIII married after he abdicated the British throne in 1936.
Smith, who is one of the British Royal Family's "authorized" biographers, told The Times that Meghan was "domineering" and has "changed the dynamic" between King Charles III's sons, Princes William and Harry.
Speaking on the topic while promoting her latest book-"George VI and Elizabeth: the Marriage That Saved the Monarchy"-at the Oxford Literary Festival, which looked at how Edward's brother, King George VI, "saved the monarchy," Bedell Smith said that there were parallels between Edward and Simpson and Harry and Meghan.
She added that she felt the Prince of Wales would have felt similar "betrayal" towards his younger brother as the then-Prince Albert felt towards Edward after his abdication.
The speculation came as the rift between the brothers appeared to remain wide after they appeared separately at the Diana Legacy Awards in London last week.
The Diana Awards were named in honor of King Charles's first wife and the prince's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Both princes attended the event solo: Meghan stayed in California to be with her children, while Princess Catherine was still recovering from her abdominal surgery earlier this year.
The Similarities Between Edward VIII and Prince Harry
Edward abdicated just months into his reign so he could marry Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite, and was since referred to as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Decades later, Harry married Meghan, an American actress who has since divorced from her first husband, and later decided to step down from their official duties in the House of Windsor and move to the United States.
Bedell Smith compared both couples, saying that the similarities and differences lie with "an American woman [coming] into the picture and [changing] the dynamic of the whole thing."
"It is different," she was quoted by The Telegraph as saying. Harry was never going to be king. But I think there are similar feelings of betrayal that have resulted in William, in particular, being furious with his brother—with good reason."
"In some respects, Meghan and the Duchess of Windsor have similar qualities: very narcissistic, very controlling, very dominating," she added.
Bedell Smith also explained that Edward's letters manifested "how weak he was and how much he needed a domineering woman," which made it seem as if "Harry is somewhat the same way."
She added that despite the turmoil caused by his "obsession" with Simpson and the subsequent abdication, Edward actually "delivered Britain from an irresponsible King."
"The Duke of Windsor did a lot of harmful things [after his abdication]," Bedell Smith was quoted by The Times. "He lied to his brother about how much money he had. For example, he was in the process of selling a huge amount of land at Sandringham just so he could pocket the money. It was those kinds of deceptions, as well as his behavior in general."
Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not immediately responded to reporters' requests for comment.
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