Prince Philip “spat blood” after finding out that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wanted to leave the royal family and told an aide that “we were wrong with her all the time”, a royal writer has claimed.
According to Christopher Andersen, author of Brothers and Wives: Inside the Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghanthe late Duke of Edinburgh went directly to the Queen to express his “anger”.
He is said to have been furious at the fact that the couple published the announcement without first informing the royals.
In the book, the helper revealed that Philip had no knowledge of the social media app Instagram, but was “furious, deeply hurt, spitting blood” when he heard about the joint announcement by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
(Image: Getty Images)
According to the helper, Philip shouted “this shows complete disrespect” when he told the queen about his anger.
The book also claims that both Philip and his son Charles had a warm relationship with Meghan, but their views eventually changed.
Andersen wrote that the leading royals now regarded Meghan as a twenty-first century Wallis Simpson – the American socialite who married the Duke of Windsor, former King Edward VIII, after he abdicated to be with her for more than 80 years ago.
Philip then confided in one of his closest aides that, “It looks like we were wrong with her all the time.”
(Image: PA)
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The Duke of Edinburgh was not the only male royal to be angry at Harry and Meghan’s announcement.
As revealed in Andersen’s book, the Prince of Wales ‘reaction to the statement, according to Charles’ staff, was “scary”.
He reportedly had a phone conversation with Harry and told him to “try to fix this”, the book claims.
The Daily Star has contacted Buckingham Palace for a comment, but Palace has previously stated about the book: “We do not comment on books of this kind as it risks giving it some form of authority or credibility.”