When Prince Harry met down with Anderson Cooper of CBS to discuss his book, a little-known and odd connection existed between the two.
Despite being born on opposite sides of the Atlantic and hundreds of miles apart, this is not the first time their families have met paths.
Mr. Cooper’s great-aunt Thelma Furness had an affair with the duke’s great-great uncle, Edward VIII, in the 1920s and 1930s.
Lady Furness introduced the then-Prince of Wales to his future wife, Wallis Simpson, in a twist of fate.
Thelma Furness is pictured with the then-Prince of Wales, Edward VIII, during their affair in 1932.
Anderson Cooper has an interview with Prince Harry regarding his new book.
It is uncertain whether the Duke of Sussex or the American television personality knew of the connection before to meeting as part of Harry’s publicity blitz preceding the release of his autobiography, Spare, next week.
However, information regarding the relationship between their families has long been available to the public.
The prince, who had a reputation for being clingy and needy, had numerous sexual relationships, including one with a courtesan who murdered her husband.
In 1926, he first met Lady Furness at an agricultural fair.
Despite the fact that she was married to Marmaduke Furness, who was 20 years her senior and the proprietor of a shipbuilding company, the two had an affair.
Despite being infatuated with Freda Ward, wife of MP William Dudley Ward, Edward had moved on to Lady Furness.
In an effort to convince the prince to move on, Freda began an affair with an American polo player. This ended their passionate relationship.
He did so in the guise of Lady Furness, with the couple swapping Harrods teddy bears to remind them of one another when they were separated.
Edward’s relationship with Lady Furness also helped him meet his future wife, Wallis.
The History Press claimed that an accidental meeting between the two at one of Lady Furness’s gatherings at her home in Melton Mowbry quickly evolved into a deep friendship.
The only reason Wallis and her second husband, Ernest Simpson, were invited to the party was because another married couple canceled at the last minute.
Edward entered into a relationship with her only after she divorced him, causing a royal crisis that culminated in his abdication and the accession of George, Harry’s great-grandfather, to the throne.
Rachel Trethewey notes in her book “Before Wallis: Edward VIII’s Other Women” that despite the fact that the affair did not last, one of the teddy bears was discovered at the bottom of Lady Furness’s handbag after she died of a heart attack in 1970.
When asked at the end of her life if she had any regrets, she replied, “I’d do it all over again. I would not introduce Wallis Simpson to the Prince of Wales again.
It is unknown whether Harry or Mr. Cooper were aware of the connection between their families.
Pictured together are Lady Furness and her twin sister Gloria Vanderbilt. Gloria was Anderson Cooper’s grandmother, according to CBS.
Later, Lady Furness expressed sorrow for introducing Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson, who were photographed together in 1942.
Gloria, the twin sister of Lady Furness, had also married into high society via the Vanderbilts, one of the wealthiest families in the United States.
She married Reginald Vanderbilt, an heir to the family fortune who was 24 years her senior, when she was 18 years old.
Before he passed away, they had one daughter, also named Gloria, who later became the focus of a highly publicized custody struggle between Gloria Vanderbilt and her sister-in-law Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.
In 1967, the younger Gloria gave birth to Mr. Cooper, the youngest of her seven children, while married to author Wyatt Emory Cooper, her fourth husband.
MailOnline has reached out to Harry’s agents for comment.
Yesterday, a trailer for his interview with Mr. Cooper and a second interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby were revealed.
In the advertisement for Harry’s interview on CBS, he was questioned why he had not shared his issues with his other family members in private.
“Every time I have attempted to do it secretly, there have been briefings, leaks, and rumors planted against me and my wife.”
It’s merely a motto: “The family motto is never complain and never explain.”
He adds, “They [Buckingham Palace] will feed or have a chat with a journalist, and the correspondent will be literally spoon-fed information and write the piece, and at the end, they will claim they have reached out to Buckingham Palace for response.”
But the entire story consists of Buckingham Palace’s commentary.
‘Therefore, when we’ve been informed for the past six years, “we can’t put out a statement to protect you,” but you do it for other family members, silence becomes a form of betrayal.’
It comes a week before the publishing of his autobiography, Spare, in the United Kingdom.
In the promotional video for his conversation with Mr. Bradby, Harry states, “It never had to be this way” and refers to “the leaking and the planting” before stating, “I want a family, not an institution.”
In an apparent reference to the royals, he adds, “they feel it is preferable to portray us as the villains,” adding that his family has “displayed absolutely no want to reconcile.”
Richard Fitzwilliams, an expert on the royal family, stated that the Sussexes’ statements in the press do not improve their relationship.
He stated, “This resembles a publicity stunt that is rather desperate.”
‘Harry may wish to “get his brother back” and “…his father back,” but he must realize that exposing this list of woes to a wider audience is not the way to do so.
‘Further charges of tales being planted against them by the Palace in both interviews demonstrate how bitter he and Meghan still are, but eventually, even the media will weary of exposure at this level, despite the love of their followers.
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal,” Harry says in the CBS interview preview, referring to the Palace’s inability to shield them from false rumors.
“There comes a time, if they wish to maintain a relationship with the Royal Family, however remote, when quiet is prudent,” When will the Sussex family learn?’
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