From the outside, Meghan does look like the perfect princess: she’s poised, she’s intelligent, she’s well spoken and above all, she’s beautiful. But from the inside, it seems as though she’s hiding a lot of things about her past, including all of the drama she’s had with her family. Now that Meghan Markle is officially the Duchess of Sussex, everyone wants to know more about her and of course, the reason why Prince Harry fell so madly in love with her.
The only person that was invited to her royal wedding to Prince Harry from her side of the family was Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland and there’s a good reason for it. Doria is the only person that Meghan can fully trust with her heart.
Everyone else that is related to Meghan all have one thing in common: either they can’t stop talking about her with the press or they are trying to cash in on her royal family.
Either way, it’s without a doubt that Meghan surely hasn’t had enough of them. And that is why she is doing everything in her royal power to keep them as far away as possible.
With that being said, here are 15 things you need to know about Meghan Markle’s family drama.
15 Meghan Has Been Estranged From Them For Years
Meghan Markle has made it no secret that she wants absolutely nothing to do with her family. As a matter of fact, she hasn’t spoken to them or seen them in years and from what we can tell, she wants to keep it that way. Instead, she wants to focus on her new life at home in Kensington Palace with her new husband, Prince Harry.
Her relatives, of course, are furious that she has totally forgotten about them and that she doesn’t even want to say their names out loud. While no one knows why Meghan has chosen to distance herself from her siblings and their families, one thing is for sure: she doesn’t want to be a part of their toxic environment. In other words, she has moved on.
Speaking about her love story with Prince Harry, she told Vanity Fair, “We’re in love. I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours. But we’re happy. Personally, I love a great love story.”
14 Her Father Let Her Down
When it comes to Meghan and her father, Thomas Markle Senior, no one really knows what is going on behind closed doors. One moment, the media reports that they are estranged while the next moment, other outlets say that they are still in communication.
Whatever the case, Thomas failed to attend Meghan Markle’s royal wedding. He backed out at the very last minute, citing health issues and scheduled heart surgery.
It was a difficult decision to make and one that left Meghan absolutely gutted.
After all, if there are two people that she wants by her side on her wedding day, it’s her mother and her father. With that being said, no one knows when was the last time Meghan actually saw her father or visited him at home in Mexico.
"Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding," she wrote in a statement, provided by Kensington Palace. "I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health."
She continued, "I would like to thank everyone who has offered generous messages of support. Please know how much Harry and I look forward to sharing our special day with you on Saturday."
13 Her Sister Samantha Markle Won’t Pipe Down
For some reason that no one can really explain, Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Markle has been the one family member who has said the most. In fact, it almost seems as though she is granting interviews with different tabloids on a daily basis. And the more the media pays attention to her, the more she has to say. And a lot of it does come across as backhanded compliments towards her now royal sister, the Duchess of Sussex. Some critics would even go as far as saying that Samantha might be jealous of her sister’s popularity, given her public behavior.
"If it's about my life or my father's, there's something in this country known as freedom of speech. She doesn't have a copyright on that,"
Samantha told TMZ. "She's way out of her league to tell me that I can't speak."
The Florida native also suggested that she might still be quarreling with Meghan behind the scenes. Samantha continued, “Meghan is not going to tell me I can't speak about my life or my father's where it's a matter of public self-defense because the media is disparaging us. I'm not going to take it, she's not qualified to suggest that I don't."
12 Her Brother Thomas’ Letter To The Tabloids
Of course, Samantha Markle isn’t Meghan’s only thorn in her side. Many critics would agree with her half-brother Thomas Markle Senior is a real piece of work, too. As a matter of fact, Thomas took it upon himself to write a letter to Prince Harry, warning him not to marry his sister, Meghan, before she ruins his life. But instead of sending the letter to Buckingham Palace, he sent it to In Touch Weekly, who published it for the world to see.
"As more time passes to your royal wedding, it became very clear that this is the biggest mistake in royal wedding history," Tom wrote in his letter to In Touch Weekly.
"Meghan Markle is obviously not the right woman for you. She is a jaded, shallow, conceited woman that will make a joke of you and the royal family heritage."
"Not to mention, to top it all off, she doesn’t invite her own family and instead invites complete strangers to the wedding. Who does that?" he continued. "You and the royal family should put an end to this fake fairytale wedding before it’s too late." Tom concludes his letter with, "Also you would think that a royal wedding would bring a torn family closer together, but I guess we are all distant family to Meg."
11 Her Mysterious Uncles
Meghan has a lot of relatives that she refuses to speak to, for one reason or another. A lot of people couldn’t help but wonder why none of Thomas Markle Senior’s brothers were invited to her royal wedding, too. After all, Meghan’s one uncle helped land her a job at the American Embassy in Argentina right after she graduated from college.
One would think that Meghan Markle would remember her uncle for helping her out, but that doesn't seem to be the case. She hasn’t spoken to him, or anyone else for that matter, in years.
Meghan told Marie Claire in an interview, “I had always been the theater nerd at Northwestern University. I knew I wanted to do acting, but I hated the idea of being this cliché—a girl from L.A. who decides to be an actress. I wanted more than that, and I had always loved politics, so I ended up changing my major completely, and double-majoring in theater and international relations. By my junior year I had finished most of my credits, and I applied for an internship at the U.S. Embassy, so I ended up working in the embassy in Buenos Aires for a few months.”
10 They Try To Discredit Her
We have to give credit where credit is due: Meghan has so far done an excellent job of ignoring all of the noise coming from the Markle family, via the tabloid press. We can take a good guess by saying that it’s not easy. For the last year and a half, they have been taking each and every opportunity to discredit her.
Meghan Markle’s siblings want to convince the public that she isn’t who she says she is. They say it’s all part of her plan to climb the top of the social ladder and that she’s not the genuine, kind-hearted, humanitarian that she thinks she is.
“Meg likes to portray herself as a humanitarian, a people’s person and a charitable person but she is none of those things to her family,”
Thomas Markle Junior told the Mirror. “She is giving the greatest performance of her life.”
Thomas also goes on to say that Meghan has totally forgotten about her family and that she’s made very little effort to see them throughout the years. Apparently, this concerns Thomas the most.
He added, “We were so close back then, but when our grandmother died, she moved to Toronto to start filming Suits and I didn’t see her. I haven’t seen her since late 2011.”
9 Her Father’s Embarrassing Photo Op
Thomas Markle Senior’s recent staged photo op with the paparazzi was like adding salt to an open wound. Apparently, Thomas thought it would be a good idea to work with a photographer a few weeks before the wedding. Photos surfaced of Thomas getting fitted for a tux and sitting in a café by himself. He can be seen “researching” information about his daughter’s royal wedding and even reading a book about Great Britain.
It was a huge public embarrassment for Meghan, to say the least.
Her sister Samantha tried to defend their father’s actions. She claims the reason why Thomas agreed to the staged photo op is because he wanted to repair his tarnished public reputation. Clearly, that didn’t happen in his favor.
“The only photos of him that were, quote, staged, were the ones of him engaging in a normal lifestyle because he had been purposely depicted in an unfavorable light,” Meghan’s sister Samantha Markle told News.com.au.
She added, “He did not accept any reasonable sum of money for them, the only ones who made money were the photographers, and he had turned down interviews twice during the year which were upwards of $50,000, so clearly he wasn’t money-motivated.”
8 But She Still Has Love For Her Father
Despite the embarrassing photo op, Meghan still has plenty of love for her father. After all, everything that he has ever worked for in his life, he did for her. He’s the reason why Meghan went to private school while she was growing up in California. He also helped pay for her tuition when she attended Northwestern University in Chicago.
And while Thomas failed to show up on what was the most important day of her life, Meghan still has plenty of room in her heart for her father.
Sure, there might have been some bad times, but she remembers all of the good ones. She’s also thankful for everything he’s done for her in her life so far.
Meghan wrote, “Happy Father’s Day, daddy. I’m still your buckaroo, and to this day your hugs are still the very best in the whole wide world,” the star wrote on Instagram in 2016 in a throwback photo of the two of them when Meghan was still a baby. “Thanks for my work ethic, my love of Busby Berkeley films & club sandwiches, for teaching me the importance of handwritten thank you notes, and for giving me that signature Markle nose. I love you xo –Bean.”
7 Even Camilla Parker Bowles Has Commented On It
You know it’s pretty bad when your dysfunctional family drama makes another dysfunctional family look good. As we all know, the royal family has had their fair share of public drama and then some. They certainly aren’t immune to embarrassing headlines. We’ve seen it all and definitely heard it all from them (remember tampon gate? Yeah, we don’t want to remember it, either).
But, alas, Camilla Parker Bowles did have a word or two to say about Meghan Markle’s family drama right after the royal wedding. She hinted that no one knew what the heck was going on behind Buckingham Palace’s doors.
Was Thomas Markle Senior going to show up at the last minute? Was there anyone available to walk Meghan down the aisle? Thankfully, Prince Charles was available to save the day. He helped welcome Meghan into the royal family by doing what her father Thomas Markle was supposed to do on her wedding day. And best of all, the event went down as a drama-free one, too.
“We all wondered whatever would happen next and then everything went right,” Prince Charles’ wife told 5 News in Britain, according to People. She added, “It was such a lovely day. Just everything went right.”
6 Her Mother Doria Wants Nothing To Do With It
So far Doria Ragland has not made any public comments to the media about her daughter, her new life as a royal, or what to expect next from her family. There have been some media whispers suggesting that Doria had a sit-down interview with Oprah, but that is yet to be confirmed. Simply put, it sounds like Doria Ragland wants nothing to do with the Markle family and their nonstop drama. Heck, she hasn’t even spoken to them in years and it’s doubtful that she will ever speak to them, either.
Still, sister Samantha just can’t keep her yapper closed. She still thinks that Meghan owes her something and that she should at least reach out and call her. Now, we don’t know what Meghan is really thinking, but there’s a strong possibility that is one phone call that the Duchess of Sussex will never make.
As far as Meghan is concerned, Samantha doesn’t even exist in her life anymore.
Samantha told the Daily Mail, “When things settle down I will hopefully be able to share with her my wishes and the gift that I got for her. I think that everything will come full circle. I will probably arrange her number from my father.”
5 They Are Cashing In On Her Royal Fame
Truth be told, a lot of critics believe that the Markle family is trying to cash in on Meghan’s new royal status. In other words, they are trying to hang on to her coat tails with every dollar that comes their way. But Samantha Markle doesn’t see it that way. Many people have labeled her as an opportunist, but she believes that she’s just expressing her right to freedom of speech.
According to News.com.au, Samantha put it this way, “Just to give people a snapshot of how it really was — if I do one interview and they pay me $1500, 10,000 publications will copy that and write their own story, that’s how it works. It’s not cashing in, to share fond feelings and memories. Here’s what’s fundamentally wrong — if family and friends don’t make any money, the journalist and tabloids are going to make tons of money and they have less right to make any money than the family.”
Samantha added, “It’s not off her … it’s off my personal photos that I was in, so if they're my memories, my life experiences, my photos, I certainly have more right to make money off them than any journalists or tabloid photographer.”
4 And Writing Books, Too
If that weren’t enough, Samantha has even bigger plans for the future: she is writing a tell-all book about her childhood and her experiences with the new royal. She even calls her a “pushy princess” but insists that it’s a compliment, and not an insult. Of course, Samantha’s critics think otherwise.
Now, Samantha says that she’s only writing the book to tell her side of the story, but that might not be the entire truth.
There’s a good chance that Samantha is trying to milk the money machine for every penny that it’s worth.
Vanity Fair reports Samantha as saying this, “First of all, it’s only a tell-all in that I go through and recant some of the beautiful nuances of our lives, our family home. But more importantly, it has to do with the inter-racial evolution of this country through the lens of my life and my family since the Civil Rights Act until present, and how that intersects with this recent event with my sister, you know, my feelings about it, my family’s feelings about it, and how sad it was going through it all. But it’s more of a beautiful, warm, witty story of our lives and my life.”
3 Meghan's Refusal To Comment
Thankfully, Meghan hasn’t engaged in any public spats with her family. She hasn’t said one word in public and there’s a good chance that she won’t ever say anything unless they cross the border of good taste. As far as Meghan is concerned, she has moved on with her life.
She’s a royal and as long as she is a member of the British monarchy, there’s a strong possibility that she will never see any of her Markle family members ever again in her life.
And after all of the things they’ve said about her, we definitely don’t blame her. The worst kind of drama you can have in your life is family drama that makes you tabloid fodder. Yet, Meghan’s siblings don’t seem to understand that. It’s no wonder Meghan has been dreaming of having her own family for years now.
Meghan told Lifestyle Magazine, “I also dream to have a family. It's all about balance, and I have so much happiness in my career and am fortunate to travel the world and see so many amazing things — it will also be nice to be anchored to something grounded and in the same place. Raising a family will be a wonderful part of that."
2 They Just Won’t Go Away
Let’s face it: Samantha Markle and the rest of the Markle family won’t be going away anytime soon. Now that media and royal fans are enjoying “Meghan Markle mania” everyone wants to know all there is to know about the Hollywood actress, including her family drama.
And as long as the tabloid press will be paying people like Samantha and her brother Thomas for their stories, you can count on all of the dirty laundry to come out, one headline at a time.
You’d think that they would leave Meghan alone by now, but that hasn’t been the case. Heck, everyone has bills to pay, right? The Markles are no exception.
Samantha recently slammed the royal family for not giving her father his own coat of arms. Kate Middleton’s father Michael received his coat of arms before the 2011 royal wedding, leading many to believe that Thomas might have gotten snubbed.
According to Page Six, Samantha said, “To exclude him of a coat of arms is really stripping him of an honor and it’s a huge insult. You’ve got inbreeding, you’ve got [addiction problems], you’ve got infidelity. On what grounds could the royals feel that the Markle’s are somehow not worthy?”
1 Will They Bring Meghan Down?
From what we can tell, Meghan Markle has a tough exterior. If she’s gotten this far in life, there’s a good chance that she will go even farther. She’s done a good job of riding out each storm that her Markle family members have blown in her direction.
Now that Meghan has Prince Harry by her side, it’s without a doubt that she feels more safe and protected than ever before. Together, they will take on the world and hopefully ignore all the nasty headlines that will come their way. You’ve got to have a very strong character to be in the position that Meghan Markle is in right now. Being a royal isn’t for the weak. Thankfully, both she and Prince Harry have proven that not only are they in love, but they are in it to win it.
Meghan told Vanity Fair in her 2016 interview, “We’re in love. I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours. But we’re happy. Personally, I love a great love story.”
References: Vanity Fair, Official Statement by Kensington Palace, TMZ, In Touch Weekly, Marie Claire, Mirror.co.uk, News.com.au, Instagram, 5 News, People Magazine, Daily Mail, Lifestyle Magazine, Page Six