The late Queen reportedly advised Meghan Markle to squash the conflict with her father in order to stop the spate of public attacks against the Firm, but ultimately turned down the request
Meghan Markle “refused” to travel to America to meet with her father in an attempt to stop the seemingly endless spate of public attacks against the Firm, despite a direct request from the late Queen Elizabeth – according to a book.
A royal author recalled that during 2018, when Meghan was preparing to marry Prince Harry in a star-studded wedding in Windsor, Meghan’s father Thomas became embroiled in a series of embarrassing scandals with the press.
Tom Bower wrote about the relationship between the estranged father and daughter in his 2022 book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, which began to fracture when staged photos of Thomas emerged.
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In the weeks before the wedding, Meghan’s father was caught contacting paparazzi to capture him preparing for the royal event. Despite his preparation, an untimely heart attack meant Thomas couldn’t travel to the UK for his daughter’s big day, with King Charles ultimately walking Meghan down the aisle.
After their fairy-tale wedding, Mr Markle continued his tirades in the media, appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain as he said: “I’m a footnote in one of the great moments of history, rather than Dad walking her down the aisle.”
Harry wrote in his memoir Spare that Meghan had spent significant time trying to “soothe” her father as his “pride was constantly wounded”. The Duchess then cut contact with her father, which only encouraged his media appearances.
“He decided to give interviews until Meghan talked to him,” Bower wrote in his 2022 book. “Rather than resting his case, the spurned father lashed out at the Royal Family.”
Then, during Meghan’s one-week visit to the Castle of Mey in July 2018, Charles’s irritation about Thomas Markle’s TV appearances and criticisms of the Royal Family came to a head, according to the book. “Can’t she just go and see him and make this stop?” Charles reportedly said, according to Bower.
“The inconsistencies of Meghan’s excuses not only irritated Charles but also the Queen. The monarch did not believe that Meghan could not resolve her differences with Thomas Markle. To persuade her to make an effort, she joined Charles in a conference call with Meghan and Harry.
“At the outset, Charles and his mother urged Meghan to fly to America for a reconciliation. Meghan rejected the Queen’s suggestion.”
Meghan apparently said in response to the advice: “It was completely unrealistic to think I could fly discreetly to Mexico, arrive unannounced at his doorstep as I had no means of secure communication with my father, to a location and residence I had never visited or known, in a small border town… and somehow hope to speak privately to my father without causing a frenzy of media attention and intrusion that could bring more embarrassment to the Royal Family.”
Bower wrote: “Her argument avoided the truth. Both Charles and the Queen realised that Meghan’s excuse was far-fetched. The conference call ended with both the senior royals perplexed by Meghan’s conduct.”
Seven years on from Harry and Meghan’s fairy-tale Windsor wedding, it is believed that Meghan is still not in contact with her father.