The eerie similarities between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle & Edward and Wallis Simpson

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement in November 2017, it was not the first time that a member of the British Royal Family had married a divorced American woman.

In 1936, Edward VIII, the uncle of Queen Elizabeth II, became King and shortly after declared his love for Wallis Simpson, announcing that he was prepared to abdicate the throne.

Edward was monarch for just 11 months in total, with the throne passing to his younger brother George VI, however the Royal Family were never able to forgive Edward for his perceived betrayal.

The couple, known after the abdication as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, spent the rest of their life in exile in France and were never forgiven by the Firm.

Here Express.co.uk takes a look at how the Windsors compare to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, nearly ninety years after the abdication.

Meghan and Wallis are both American

Meghan and Harry enjoyed their first date together at Soho House in London in July 2016, having previously been chatting on Instagram.

She was a departure from his previous girlfriends, having been born in California in 1981 and working as an actress in Hollywood for many years, eventually hitting the big time in Suits.

Wallis Simpson meanwhile was born in 1896 in Pennsylvania, meeting her future husband at a party in 1931 thrown by his then-mistress Lady Furness.

At the time Wallis was still married to her second husband Ernest Simpson.

Meghan and Wallis are both divorced

Meghan was married to her first husband Trevor Engelson from 2011 until 2013, meaning the relationship was well and truly over before she met Harry.

But Wallis and Edward were rumoured to have begun an affair in 1934, while she was still married to Ernest, although Edward maintained through his life that she was never unfaithful.

She filed for divorce in October 1936 after eight years of marriage, having already been married to Earl Winfield Spencer Junior from 1916 to 1927.

Unlike today, divorce was much more frowned upon by society in the 1930s and it was felt that as head of the Church of England the King could not marry a divorced woman.

The Sussexes and the Windsors both stepped back from royal life

Harry and Meghan's departure from the Royal Family in 2020 has been well-documented, as while they initially favoured a 'half in, half out' approach to royal duties they were informed by the late Queen Elizabeth that this would not be possible.

Instead they decided to quit royal life altogether and move to Montecito in California, where they have lived ever since with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

In November 1936, King Edward announced his intentions to marry Wallis, which he did when her divorce was finalised, even though his mother Queen Mary informed him he would have to abdicate if he did so.

He signed the Instrument of Abdication in December, having already proposed to Wallis, and then married her in June 1937. The couple lived out their final days in exile in Paris, France.

The couples are both estranged from the Royal Family

Perhaps the saddest comparison to be made between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor is how their relationships with the royals subsequently broke down.

Prince Harry has little to no contact with most of his family, and even though King Charles may find it in his heart to forgive him it seems the same cannot be said for Prince William.

His memoir Spare was particularly damaging, as Harry alleged that his family had treated him less favourably than his older brother, William the heir.

Edward and Wallis lived in Bois de Boulogne outside Paris together from 1953 until their respective deaths in 1972 and 1986, having never patched things up with the Firm.