MARKLE DEBACLE (PART TWO)

For courtiers to be wrong-footed once was unfortunate. But twice?

Yesterday’s Order of the Garter ceremony went like clockwork – as usual. even the sun peeped out to bask Windsor Castle in a golden glow as the Queen led members of the royal Family in velvet capes and plumed hats to celebrate the ancient order of chivalry.

such spectacular events, of course, are meticulously planned, from the parade ground perfection of the marching Blues and royals to the crisp salutes of the white-gloved police.

they also rely on one other key ingredient – the absence of any unexpected surprise that might derail the spectacular.

and yet for the second time in little more than a month, Buckingham Palace has been caught out by the domestic whirlwind that surrounds the family of the newest member of ‘the firm’, the duchess of sussex.

thomas Markle’s bombshell television interview, in which some of his daughter Meghan and Prince Harry’s most intimate secrets were exposed, left courtiers reeling.

to be wrong-footed once as they were when the duchess’s father announced he would not be giving Meghan away – so late in the day his presence could not be removed from the order of service – may be unfortunate. to be surprised for a second time, however, might be regarded as careless.

If Mr Markle’s remarks about his daughter and Harry trying for a baby – ‘there’s got to be a child in the making, somewhere soon’ – were just cringemaking, his assertions about Harry’s views on donald trump and Brexit were explosive.

Quite apart from stripping aside his daughter’s dignity, he has also exposed his new sonin-law to critics who will complain that members of the royal Family have no business declaring an interest in the hottest political issues of the day.

And ever since trump became Us President, and more particularly over controversial plans to invite him to Britain, the royals have been scrupulous to avoid revealing any views on the matter.

In his interview on ItV’s Good Morning Britain, Mr Markle spoke of his telephone conversations with Harry. In one, he said: ‘I was complaining about not liking donald trump. He said “give donald trump a chance”. I sort of disagreed with that.’

When asked about Harry’s views on Brexit, Mr Markle, 73, told hosts Piers Morgan and susanna reid: ‘It was just a loose conversation ... I think he [Harry] was open to the experiment.’

no wonder yesterday at the Palace there were shudders. Members of the royal Family can express views on events but they cannot be seen as partisan. nor did they much like hearing the Queen being referred to as ‘that woman’.

even if one has some sympathy for the unsophisticated tom Markle who emerges as naïve rather than wilful – though it cannot be ignored that he was paid for this interview – the Palace has again been found wanting. Four weeks ago, old royal hands were left wondering why more effort hadn’t been taken to ensure that Meghan’s father was properly brought into his daughter’s new world.

Instead, aides were left floundering when it emerged that Mr Markle had foolishly participated in the staging of paparazzi pictures. the irony was that this act of invading his own privacy came at the very time Kensington Palace was sending strict warnings to the media not to harass him.

It was hard to escape the conclusion that royal advisers had failed to realise that this lonely man — who lives in a run-down, Mexican border town — would struggle to deal with the enormity of his daughter marrying into the royal Family.

Why, they were asked, hadn’t Mr Markle been helped? a consular official from the British embassy in Mexico City could have been sent up to brief him or even one of Prince Charles’s more experienced aides flown out to acclimatise him.

yesterday, as they did a month ago, sources murmured that offers of assistance had been made to the former tV lighting director. aides were reluctant to say more, but many thought that as soon as the wedding was over steps would have been taken to ensure Mr Markle felt he was part of the family. this might mean a new home, paid for by his wealthy son-in-law, and with an income to support himself and where he would have no need to give interviews for cash. at the very least one might have expected the newlyweds to have visited him by now – or arranged for him to visit them. His treatment – or rather a lack of it – contrasts wildly with that extended to his ex-wife and Meghan’s mother, doria ragland. the 61-year-old yoga teacher received the warmest of welcomes when she flew in from her La home for the wedding. an aide was waiting to drive her to Kensington Palace; she had tea with Prince Charles and the duchess of Cornwall and, ahead of the wedding, met the Queen.

SHe is now firmly part of her daughter’s new family. thomas Markle, thus far, seems to be excluded from it. One can only imagine how frustrating this must be for Prince Harry. determined to protect his wife in the way he was never able to protect his late mother, diana, the response of the Palace to Meghan’s father has fallen short.

Of one thing we can be sure: he will not be overly embarrassed that his views on trump and the eU have emerged. One figure who has known the prince since he was a boy, says: ‘ you could say he handled a tricky conversation well. When asked about Brexit he was trying to be non-committal and on trump he didn’t want to be rude.’

a less generous view was being taken elsewhere however. as a young man whose experiences of america come from his time training with the Us military and that ill-fated trip to Las Vegas, he might be disposed to thinking positively about trump.

Indeed the royals have followed trump’s rise closely. at a charity lunch before the 2016 Us election, Prince Charles asked an american sitting next to him what trump was like.

the guest later admitted she was flustered because she didn’t think royals talked about political figures. Perhaps this accounts for the sympathy that exists at Clarence House for this latest imbroglio involving Meghan’s father.

‘Prince Charles and Camilla like Meghan enormously, but they do feel that the team around her and Harry is rather inexperienced,’ says an insider.

Others, though, feel that the duchess herself could have done more to avoid difficulties. It is worth recalling that according to Meghan’s biographer andrew Morton, the former actress has long become used to compartmentalising her life.

When success with tV series suits arrived, she purged many childhood friends. some might argue she has done the same with her close family. Her mother, after all, was the solitary representative of blood relatives at her daughter’s wedding. Inevitably, those around the royals were comparing Mr Markle with another royal-inlaw, the duchess of Cambridge’s father Michael Middleton.

He has only ever spoken once – and then under strict Palace control – when his daughter became engaged to Prince William. In the near eight years since, he has said nothing.

sadly – with a little more due diligence – this Markle debacle Part 2 might have been wholly avoided.