Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
The truth about my little sister Meghan & me
Exclusive by Samantha Markle
Embracing and grinning broadly as they pose for a photo, Meghan Markle and her half-sister Samantha look like the closest of siblings. But fast-forward three decades and the picture is very different.
Samantha, 53, admits she has no idea if she will be invited when US actress Meghan marries Prince Harry in May.
Speaking movingly of her wish to be reunited with 36-year-old Meghan, she reveals they have not talked to each other for three years.
She tells the Mirror: “The last time we spoke – when I heard her voice – was 2014, almost 2015.
“Her last words were, ‘I love you, babe. I’m really glad we had this conversation. Keep in touch’.
“And she couldn’t – she got busy. I tried. But I think she just got really busy.”
Breaking down in tears, Samantha adds: “I hope now that she knows I was there. I should’ve really reached out more... but I’m proud of her.”
Samantha also denies the title of her forthcoming memoir – The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister – is an insult, saying she chose it to make a mockery of “social perceptions and labels”.
She adds: “I wanted to show in the book that she [is the] opposite.”
Samantha also addressed negative comments she made on Twitter about a charity mission Meghan made to India.
Speaking from her home in the US state of Florida, Samantha says: “I can only say to Meg, ‘Forgive me’.”
When asked if she thinks she will get an invitation to the royal wedding, she says: “I don’t know... I don’t know if she’s going to feel that my book is good. There’s a lot of misperception out there.
“I’d be lying to say that I wouldn’t be hurt if I didn’t get an invite but that’s really up to her.
“That’s her day. It’s her special moment. And I would love to be a part of it. But, I think, possibly she might also understand that it’s not easy for all of us to get there. But if we can, we will.”
She adds: “It would be pleasing for us to be there and be invited. But it’s entirely her decision.”
Former actress Samantha, who has used a wheelchair since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008, adds that she urged Meghan to help their dad Thomas Markle financially.
She says: “There was just a time when – and it’s funny – we were on the phone. It was probably not my place to say but I was just saying, ‘Hey, help Dad with some of that money for school now you’re making a lot of money’.
“I think at that time she wasn’t that pleased about what I had to say.
“And she said, ‘There are too many cooks in the kitchen, babe’.
“Wow! I guess big sister is being told to step off. That’s not her place to say...
“It wasn’t a handout. Nobody was asking for money. It’s like, ‘You’re doing really well, help Dad
I’d be lying to say I wouldn’t be hurt if I didn’t get an invite but that is up to her SAMANTHA ON HER HOPES FOR MEGHAN’S WEDDING
with some of that money back... I love her but she should help Dad.”
Retired lighting director Thomas is living a reclusive life in Mexico.
He left the US two years ago after declaring himself bankrupt.
This week Samantha referred to Meghan wearing a £56,000 dress for her engagement photos with 33-year-old Harry, saying: “If you can spend $75,000 on a dress, you can spend $75,000 on your dad.”
It has not been announced if Thomas will walk Meghan down the aisle at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, Berks. When asked about giving his daughter away, he told the Mirror recently: “I’d love to.”
Samantha says neither she nor her dad were offended by Harry’s comments about the royals being the family Meghan “never had” after their Christmas at the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
Samantha seemed to lash out shortly after by tweeting: “She has a large family who were there for her. No one was estranged, she was just too busy.”
She tells the Mirror: “My father’s not hurt by anything Harry said. I’m not hurt by anything Harry said.
“I was just clarifying it wasn’t family she never had, it was the family gathering with kids running around at a holiday all together she never experienced, because we were all working and spread out.
“Socio-economics in America demand that family members work. I guess because they’re royal they can have that and that’s incredible.”
The mum adds: “The Markles are not a rubbishy sort. There’s no Dukes of Hazzard. There’s no Simpsons. That was all a joke my brother spewed. A pretty normal, artistic family. We’ve always been there for her.”
She says she speaks to her dad every day, and adds he supports Meghan and Harry’s relationship. Samantha says: “He loves her and he’s happy for them.”
She describes the prince as “quirky and cute, and perfect for her”.
“They are very charming together. He has a noble heart.”
She adds: “My father would never show up at anybody’s door without flowers and a bottle of wine. He had a beautiful, gentlemanly air about him. And I think Meghan came to appreciate that. I feel Harry resembles the best qualities in my father.”
She thinks the couple will have children, adding: “They’ll be elf-like, cute, funny kids that always look like they have a secret – giggling and charming.
“Little pointy noses. I think they’ll be adorable and funny and intelligent. I can’t wait to see them.”