Prince Philip transferred back to King Edward VII Hospital

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex discussed their reasons for stepping down as senior royals with Oprah Winfrey in a bombshell interview, which aired on Monday. The couple said they felt unsupported and unprotected by the institution and the fallout from their numerous revelations have left the family reeling and the monarchy in crisis. Meanwhile, the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, is still in hospital after undergoing heart surgery last week.

He has been in hospital for over three weeks now and is currently in London’s private King Edward VII Hospital recovering.

Philip is said to have been “appalled” by the Sussexes’ decision to leave the Royal Family last year and is “at this wit’s end to understand”.

Pod Save the Queen is hosted by Ann Gripper and features Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers.

Ingrid Seward, Editor-in-Chief of Majesty magazine and royal biographer, was interviewed for the podcast by regular contributor Zoey Forsey last year.

When asked what the Iron Duke makes of the Megxit debacle, Ms Seward said: “I think he is baffled, completely baffled by Harry and Meghan’s desperation to leave the Royal Family.

“I think he feels they had so much going for them, Harry had all his military appointments that he was helping with, they had a beautiful house which was just finished, they had a beautiful baby, they were beginning to really make a mark in the world and they had the support of the Queen in promoting the Commonwealth.

“And Philip just thought that their dereliction of duty was appalling, he couldn’t understand it.

“What is so wrong with the Royal Family? And if it’s so awful, why did Meghan ever marry Harry, if it’s so ghastly?

“Well obviously we know that she didn’t know, but I think he was at his wits end to understand.

“And as someone of his age would be, they wouldn’t understand ‒ I mean, we don’t really understand do we?”

Philip and Harry both have a strong connection to the military and one of Harry’s key military appointments ‒ Captain General of the Royal Marines ‒ was passed on from his grandfather, who held it for 64 years.

Prince Harry said in the interview with Oprah that he had been “trapped” in the Royal Family, but did not know he was trapped until he met Meghan.

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He also said everyone had been very welcoming to her, more so than he had even thought they would.

Ms Seward pointed out that Meghan and Philip actually have a lot in common – they are both foreign-born outsiders to the Firm, who had successful careers they had to give up to dedicate themselves to duty.

She said Philip would definitely have wanted to help Meghan, but that he was unwell around the time of the wedding and afterwards, so may not have been able to help much.

She said: “Philip welcomed Meghan at the beginning, as an outsider – he was an outsider, he knows what it feels like and he feels like he has a part to play, he can do something useful, he could help her.

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“But whether or not he ever managed to do anything, I do not know.

“He also wasn’t very well at the time, but he was totally determined that he was going to be there at their wedding and it was only six weeks after his hip operation so he really, really had to use his incredible willpower.

“He walked into the chapel unaided and he would never have been seen with a stick or a wheelchair.

“He was there for the wedding photographs and then he disappeared, he didn’t stay for the reception.”

She added that, while Philip “said his bit to the Queen” regarding the couple’s decision to step down, he has avoided getting directly involved in the family drama.

The royal expert also claimed Philip likens Meghan to Wallis Simpson, another American divorcee who captured the heart of a royal.

Back in 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated his throne in order to marry Wallis and the pair, restyled as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, were ostracised by the family for abandoning duty.

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Oprah With Meghan and Harry was on ITV at 9pm on Monday March 8. You can watch the full interview on the ITV hub.

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