A new book by Ingrid Seward (Prince Philip Revealed) claims that the Duke of Edinburgh has "has struggled greatly" with his grandson Prince Harry's decision to step back as a senior member of the royal family and move away with his wife Duchess Meghan (formerly Meghan Markle).

Prince Philip: Harry's exit is a "dereliction of duty"

The first excerpts from the book give a clear picture of what Prince Philip thinks about Prince Harry's royal exit back in January. The passages from Prince Philip Revealed were published in the Mail on Sunday last weekend.

Veteran royal biographer Ingrid Seward writes: "He [Prince Philip] has struggled greatly, for example, with what he sees as his grandson Harry’s dereliction of duty, giving up his homeland and everything he cared about for a life of self-centered celebrity in North America."

Seward also claims that Prince Philip "has found it hard to understand exactly what it was that made his grandson’s life so unbearable. As far as Philip was concerned, Harry and Meghan had everything going for them: a beautiful home, a healthy son, and a unique opportunity to make a global impact with their charity work."

Prince Philip sees Andrew as a "global figure of ridicule"

"For a man whose entire existence has been based on a dedication to doing the right thing," Seward continues, "it appeared that his grandson had abdicated his responsibilities for the sake of his marriage to an American divorcée in much the same way as Edward VIII gave up his crown to marry Wallis Simpson in 1937."

And the Duke of Edinburgh is also not happy with his son Prince Andrew, who has turned into a "global figure of ridicule," Seward writes, because of his connection to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "For Philip and the Queen, their son's failure of judgment was a tragedy. Not only had he besmirched the reputation of the monarchy, but had become involved in something extremely distasteful and far more serious."

Prince Philip Revealed by Ingrid Seward will be released on October 20, 2020.