The motley crew of relatives linked to this weekend’s wedding of the year

A MARIJUANA farmer, a jealous ex-model and a recluse living on a Mexican clifftop — Meghan Markle’s family sounds more like guests on a Jerry Springer Show episode than guests at a royal wedding.

Luckily for the Windsors, most of Ms Markle’s motley crew of outspoken and disgruntled relatives will not be in attendance when she says “I do” at Windsor Castle this weekend.

Only Ms Markle’s yogainstructor mother Doria Ragland and debt-ridden, estranged father Thomas Markle appear to have been invited to join the Queen, Prince Phillip, Camilla, Charles and other assorted aristocracy at the wedding of the year.

The union of Prince Harry and his older, actress bride, is certainly a groundbreaking moment for the royal family.

Remarkably, despite her lack of pedigree and the fact that she has been married before, the Queen has given her blessing for her grandson, Harry, to marry the Americanborn Ms Markle.

But that was well before the monarch had an opportunity to clap eyes on her controversial new in-laws. She may well have pause for thought once she meets the Markles: works at a Californian mental health clinic and recently ran a marathon. Doria raised her only child as a single mother after her short-lived marriage to Thomas Markle ended when Meghan was six. Meghan credits her mother, who is also a social worker, with founding her interest in humanitarian work by taking her to visit slums in Jamaica and Mexico when she was 10 in a bid to raise her as a “global citizen”.

While his youngest child was becoming one of the most famous women in the world, Thomas Markle, 73, has been living a life in self-imposed exile in a tiny house on a Mexican clifftop.

The Emmy-winning lighting director, who worked on such shows as Married … With Children and General Hospital, moved to the small village of Rosarito Beach where he lives a modest life.

Mr Markle’s eldest son, Tom Jr, claims his father has become a recluse because he is so uncomfortable with the attention Meghan’s royal romance had brought upon the family.

Thomas was declared bankrupt in 2016, with debts of more than $43,000. Meghan’s older half-siblings claim there is a rift in the family because the Suits star did not help their shared father deal with his financial problems. Their account has been denied by other family members.

Thomas will meet Harry for the first time when he arrives in England to walk his daughter down the aisle.

Any hope of scoring an invitation to the wedding of the year was scuppered when Tom Jr penned a scathing open letter in which he called Meghan a “jaded, shallow and conceited woman” who would make a joke of the royal family. The twice-married, windowfitter has a history of alcoholism and was arrested last year for threatening his latest fiancee, Darlene Blount, with a gun to her head. The couple have since reconciled.

The last time Tom Jr saw Meghan was at their grandmother’s funeral in 2011. He recently tried to backtrack from his earlier attacks on Meghan’s character.

Ms Blount ended up ringing in the New Year from behind bars when she was arrested for a boozy bust-up with her fiancee, Tom Markle Jr. Locals in Grant’s Pass, Oregon, where the couple live, say Tom Jr has a history of violence but Ms Blount stays in the relationship because he is her “meal ticket”. “They are two sick people feeding off each other,” a neighbour told the press shortly after the arrest.

Tom Jr’s son from his first marriage also lives in Oregon where he makes a lucrative living as a marijuana farmer. Tyler prides himself on being a “pioneer” in the now legal cannabis-growing industry and says he’d love to offer the Royal couple a sample of his new hybrid plant dubbed “Markle’s Sparkle”. The farmer, who says he has stopped smoking weed after taking up the habit in high school, says he’d love to give his aunt and her new husband a tour of his business.

“Prince Harry loves a good party,” Tyler said. “I’d be happy to show them around if they ever come out here and educate them on the medicinal benefits of marijuana which helps everything from posttraumatic stress syndrome to insomnia to pain in cancer patients.’

Tyler hasn’t spoken to Meghan for more than three years but the actress used to babysit him when he was a child. Tyler, his older brother TJ and mum Tracey will be part of the wedding commentary team on a British breakfast show.

Like her little half-sister Meghan, Samantha tried — albeit unsuccessfully — to forge a career in Hollywood as a model and actress.

Now wheelchair-bound due to multiple sclerosis, Samantha was the first of Meghan’s relatives to cash in on her fame and lampoon her in the press. Giving multiple interviews, Samantha labelled her more successful younger sibling as a “social climber” with a “softspot for gingers” who had barely spoken to her since she became sick in 2008.

Despite having no contact with Meghan for more than a decade, Samantha plans to write a tell-all book about the soon-to-be-royal with the tentative title The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister. Like her brother Tom Jr, Samantha has accused Meghan of abandoning their father, taking the star to task for spending lavishly on her engagement frock while their father is in debt. After a brief ceasefire, Samantha went on a Twitter tirade against Meghan when she realised she would not be

The eldest daughter of Samantha, Ashleigh 31, is close to her aunt Meghan in age and in personality.

Meghan has credited Ashleigh with inspiring her portrayal of Rachel on Suits. Before she deleted all her social media accounts, Meghan praised Ashleigh’s pro bono legal work and her role with a non-profit organisation called Gray Haven, set up to fight the trafficking of vulnerable adults and children.

The 19-year-old anthropology student is estranged from her mother, Samantha, and lives with her grandmother, Rosalyn Markle, in New Mexico. Noelle has said her mother is jealous of Meghan’s fame and career success. She said her aunt Meghan had been kind to her when she was a child, taking her shopping for toys and books. She has called for an end to the sniping against Meghan, saying it is ripping the Markle family apart.

The older brother of Thomas has had a long and illustrious career in the US military. Michael, 78, has boasted of how he helped Meghan get her first job in an embassy when she was 20. He said he was “upset and surprised” not to be invited for the big day.