Meghan Markle Felt Pressure To Reconcile With Her Father From An Unlikely Source
Meghan Markle and her father Thomas Sr. have had their strained relationship splashed all over the media ever since Prince Harry asked her to marry him in 2017. The drama between the dad and daughter seemingly culminated in his decision not to attend the royal couple's 2018 wedding, with the Duchess of Sussex releasing an official statement that confirmed Thomas Sr. would be skipping their widely-watched nuptials (via Insider).
"I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health," the statement read in part. Unfortunately, Thomas Sr. shared a different account, saying that he didn't want to show his face in the UK following a series of particularly humiliating photos he'd agreed to stage with a tabloid in which he faked getting ready for the wedding — and for which he was paid a pretty sum (via Daily Mail).
Meanwhile, the back and forth between Meghan and her father didn't end there.
Meghan Markle and her dad traded jabs in the press
After Thomas Markle Sr. did not walk Meghan Markle down the aisle at her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, he continued to share thoughts about the status of their relationship via the media. And, he notoriously leaked a letter she had penned privately to him to the Daily Mail without her permission (via Buzzfeed).
The Duchess of Sussex ultimately commented on what was going on with her dad from her perspective during her infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, noting in no uncertain terms how disappointed she was with his decision to talk to tabloids.
While apparently the two are now estranged, someone unexpected within the royal family had hoped things could be different (via Us Weekly).
No, it's not the Duke of Sussex that we speak of. Instead, according to a new book about Harry and Meghan and their decision to leave royal life behind in favor of a fresh start in California, the author has claimed that the most senior members of "The Firm" attempted to stage an intervention of sorts between the former actress and her dad.
The Queen herself tried to intervene in Meghan Markle's family drama
We know Prince Harry supported his wife Meghan Markle in the ongoing drama with her dad Thomas Sr. — so much so, that the couple sued the Daily Mail for publishing the private letter she wrote to her dad (and the week before their 2018 wedding no less), and won.
But Harry is not the only person within the palace walls who wanted the mom of two to reconcile with her father —or at least this is what British journalist Tom Bower has asserted in his new book, "Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors" (via Page Six).
In the buzzy tome, Bower writes that the Queen herself, as well as Prince Charles, staged a conference call with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after Thomas Markle was a no show at the wedding and urged Meghan to patch things up with her dad. But the newlywed was already putting her foot down about how she saw her life playing out, even in the face of unimaginable pressure.
Meghan Markle did not see eye to eye with the Queen about how to handle her father
As Tom Bower writes in his book "Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors," although Queen Elizabeth and her son, the Prince of Wales, were in favor of the Duchess of Sussex reconciling with her dad, she didn't see how their relationship could be salvaged under the circumstances (via Page Six).
Bower claims Meghan Markle told the senior royals that it was "completely unrealistic" for her to travel to her father's home in Mexico and conduct a private conversation with Thomas Sr. "without causing a frenzy of media attention and intrusion that could bring more embarrassment to the royal family."
So did the monarch and her firstborn son acquiesce and ultimately empathize with Meghan's turmoil over the situation? Well, we don't know for sure what may have been said during this alleged call, but as Bower writes in his book, the incident could have planted the seed for the couple to announce they were stepping back as senior royals — in the end, leaving the UK for good.