We’ve still no idea if Meghan’s father will walk her down aisle
FAMILY IN THE DARK OVER ROYAL WEDDING INVITE
ROYAL bride-to-be Meghan Markle poses with her dad, uncle and cousins for a happy family birthday picture in 2000.
But 18 years on, none of the relatives around her are smiling.
Because with five weeks to go to the Big Day, it looks like Meghan could be the ONLY member of the Markle family at her wedding to Prince Harry.
Even her dad Thomas, the man who is poised to walk her down the aisle at Windsor Castle, has no idea whether he will be there.
And invites already dished out to the couple’s celeb pals, from the Beckhams and Spice Girls to tennis star Serena Williams and Made In Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh, have only served to deepen her family’s anger.
Her cousin Trish Gallup reveals today she has even written to Clarence House, enclosing the picture on these pages, asking why the family has been snubbed.
But staff turned her Fedex package away. She also wrote in desperation to Prince Harry through an address she found online, sending the same pictures – but has had no reply.
Now some family members are urging Meghan’s 73-year-old dad to demand answers from Buckingham Palace – and to find out if they have all been snubbed because of the controversial behaviour of some of her relatives.
FIREARM
Her older half-sister Samantha Grant, 53, is writing a tell-all book about the 36-year-old future Princess. And halfbrother Thomas Jr, 51, faced firearm charges in January last year for allegedly holding a gun to his girlfriend’s head during a drunken argument in Oregon. The case was later dropped.
But Meghan’s uncle Michael, 78, said other family members deserved to be there – especially her dad. “I talked to Thomas last week and he didn’t seem to know what the problem was,” said Meghan’s uncle Michael, 78, who lives in Palm Beach, Florida.
“He told me he hasn’t heard anything and he didn’t even know if he would be walking Meghan down the aisle.
“He’s very private, but I don’t see how you can be the father of the bride and be a shrinking violet. I think he has to step up and I think he’s willing to do that.”
Michael, a former US government worker who helped secure Meghan a college internship in Argentina, added: “I don’t know what the hell is going on.
“But someone has to get through and find out if Meghan is turning these letters away or what.
“I’m sure she doesn’t want some of the Markles there, but myself and my brother Fred and my two girls would like to go.”
Last week Meghan’s halfsister Samantha, slammed the exsuits star for “inviting strangers to the Royal Wedding and not her family”.
Around 600 guests are
thought to have been invited to the wedding on May 19 and 2,500 members of the public have been asked to help celebrate the occasion. But Meghan’s cousin Trish, 58, has given up hope of going after her attempts to find out the truth met a wall of silence. “We’re all quite saddened and hurt,” said the divorced mum who runs her own chauffeur business in Atlanta, Georgia. “Back in January, I sent an engagement card and a letter including photos of us at our grandmother Doris’ 65th birthday celebration in 2000. “Some of the relatives have since passed away. I found an address online where mail would be received for Prince Harry. It was odd to not hear anything back.
“So two weeks ago, I wrote another letter and sent it via Fedex to make sure it arrived. But Fedex said it was turned away as the Palace does not accept unwarranted packages.
SADDENED
“I’ve done everything I can to try to reach Meghan, but we are not invited. I’m not holding out any hope. Certainly invitations would have arrived by now if they were coming.
“I think Meghan’s sister blew it for us by writing a tell-all book – and I believe they don’t want to risk embarrassment, which is understandable. I’m saddened, though. I would have loved to give my wishes to Meghan.
“She was only 19 at the time of our grandmother’s party and I thought then was how she really had it together. I’ve always felt proud of her.”
Trish, who has a son Jeremy, 17, said she was also unsure whether Meghan’s father had been invited.
“He and Meghan have a very close relationship, so I can’t imagine him not going. Meghan maybe has no choice. Perhaps he’s not saying anything to us because he was told to be quiet.” Trish revealed she has already met a Royal – at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. “I was a protocol manager, escorting VIPS. I was looking after Princess Anne in the VIP tent when my heel got caught in the decking and I fell into her.
“She caught me and was ever so gracious. I was mortified!
“I always remembered that. So I met at least one of the Royals before Meghan did.” Meanwhile, it was claimed this weekend that Meghan split with her former celebrity chef boyfriend over a row about pasta.
She was dating cook Cory Vitiello – one of Canada’s most eligible bachelors – until about three months before she met Prince Harry in 2016. But things between the couple are said to have come to the boil at a dinner party when Meghan passed off his specially created recipe for a pasta dish as her own. Their relationship – which friends thought might lead to marriage – ended soon afterwards.
Another big Royal event – the birth of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s third child, expected later this month– is sparking betting fever over the name. Alice and Mary are both 5-1 joint favourites with Coral, with Victoria at 8/1. The shortest odds for boy’s names are Albert and Arthur, both 12/1. And it’s 10-11 for a girl, Evens for a boy.
I sent letter to Palace with this picture. It was turned away
COUSIN TRISH ON HER BIDS TO CONTACT MEGHAN