HARRY’S PLEA TO THE QUEEN FOR MEGHAN
THE PRINCE TURNS TO THE QUEEN IN A BID TO HELP HIS WIFE
Enough is enough. For weeks now Prince Harry has watched as his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, becomes increasingly distressed by her father Thomas Markle’s outbursts against the royal family.
Now his patience has worn thin and it may be time for him to try to sort out the mess by bringing in the big guns – his grandmother, the Queen.
Her Majesty is bound to be very unimpressed by Thomas’ insistence on talking to the media about the falling out he’s had with his daughter and her new husband since he owned up to posing for fake paparazzi photos. Thomas has admitted he hung up on a phone conversation with his son-in-law – who he has never actually met in person – and he’s accused the royals of leaving Meghan “terrified”.
In the most recent interview, the former Hollywood lighting
director compared the royal family to a cult due to the fact they’re secretive, saying, “They are either like Scientologists or the Stepford family. Maybe they have a secret handshake too.”
Her Majesty’s most likely response to this is “one is not amused”, says a royal source.
“The Queen will be rolling her eyes and thinking, ‘What is to become of all of this?’”
Harry, meanwhile, will be feeling very awkward about the negative publicity Thomas has been generating. All royals feel embarrassed if they or people they mix with bring disrepute to the family, and they hate to bother the Queen about troubling personal matters.
But Harry (33) cares deeply about the welfare of his wife, who is extremely hurt by her father’s behaviour, and things have gotten so out of hand that the couple may need to get
Her Majesty to intervene. Royal correspondent Phil Dampier, who has reported on Britain’s first family for more than 25 years, says, “It’s getting out of control. If this carries on, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Queen herself gets involved and bangs a few heads together.”
So far, Harry and Meghan (37) have dealt with the whole sorry saga by staying resolutely quiet. Meghan reportedly flew to Los Angeles last week to see her mother Doria Ragland, but did not make the 241km trip from there to see her father at his home in Rosarito, Mexico. She has apparently not spoken to her dad since shortly after her wedding in May when he began talking to the media and, in keeping with royal protocol, she has never commented on the so-called “Markle Debacle” or asked anyone to voice her side of things.
“Meghan doesn’t think it’s a fair game between her father and the media, so she’s not going to engage in it or instruct anyone to set the record straight on her behalf,” tells a palace insider.
But something needs to be done because the new duchess is “deeply upset” by her father continuing to spout off about the royals. “Everything is being done behind the scenes to make sure her welfare is at the top of the agenda,” says the source. “It is an increasingly desperate situation.”
There are three possible options for sorting matters out, according to the insider. “Firstly, Meghan could contact her father straight away and appeal to him directly to ask him to stop hurting her, but right now, she’s decided to cut him off.
“There is a possibility an intermediary could meet with him and appeal to him to stop making such hurtful statements. The final option would be for Meghan to cut him off
completely in the hope he will stop, but the situation is so precarious that no-one knows when that would be.”
If the intermediary option is considered, it would be extremely unlikely the Queen herself would volunteer to contact Thomas and ask him to stop airing his grievances to the media. But she may appoint a trusted staff member to get in touch on her behalf and subtly negotiate a solution.
Another option that has been raised is for Prince Charles to broker a peace deal with Thomas. A “father-to-father” approach could work and Thomas may just respond to a request from Charles to maintain a dignified silence about family matters. Thomas seems to respect Charles, having previously thanked the heir to the throne for stepping in and walking Meghan down the aisle when he couldn’t.
Charles, meanwhile, is very fond of Meghan and would no doubt be very keen to help if it is deemed appropriate.
“The prince will be very sympathetic towards Meghan and the difficult situation she is in,” says the insider.
The trouble is, everyone is nervous about Thomas’ inability to keep quiet about any contact he has with the royals. He’s already exposed Harry’s feelings about politics following a phone chat with the prince, including revealing that Harry is “open to Brexit” and that he told Thomas to “give Donald Trump a chance”. The royals would not be happy if any conciliatory conversations between their representative and Thomas was made public.
Kensington Palace has, so far, not commented on what has happened with Thomas but staff there are said to be furious that things have gotten so out of hand, and senior aides are copping flak for not containing the situation. Many believe the only way the current stand-off will be solved is if Meghan herself is able to mend fences with her father.
For the time being, she seems to prefer to keep her distance.
“Meghan loves Thomas and does want to maintain a relationship with him in the long run,” says the insider. “But at the moment, she feels he needs a bit of space. She also wants to take a bit of time out.”
It would be such a shame if Meghan lost all contact with her father and nobody appreciates this more than Harry.
As someone whose mother, Princess Diana, died tragically, Harry knows what it is like to have a missing parent. While there’s always hope in Meghan’s case that her relationship with Thomas can be restored, Harry does not have that option with his mother.
When and if a reconciliation does come, Meghan may also need to convince Thomas to gag his other children, her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr and half-sister Samantha Markle. Both have been critical about the way Meghan has treated their dad. Thomas Jr (51) has even written a letter to the Queen, asking her to ensure that Meghan is not treated like Princess Diana because he’s worried his sister will meet the same fate.
Meanwhile, the royal household will no doubt have given a big sigh of relief when Samantha (53) revealed rumours she was going to be on the next season of Celebrity Big Brother were false.
“There would not be enough room in that house for my mouth,” she tweeted.
The drama caused by Meghan’s family has taken the sheen off the early days of her fairytale marriage. Royal insiders say she and Harry are so happy otherwise, and just want to enjoy married life. They’ll also be hoping the situation will be resolved soon as it detracts from the good work Harry has been doing, such as campaigning for mental health causes and wounded veterans.
Meghan is expected to soon announce which charities she will support in her new royal capacity and will want to generate positive publicity for those causes close to her heart without her family feud being mentioned every time she carries out official duties.
“This business with her father has gone on for long enough,” says one royal commentator. “Somebody needs to sort it out so they can get on with doing the good things the royal family does.”