MEGHAN WEDDING SNUB TO UNCLES
Close family’s fury as they’re left off guest list...but her dog’s vet is invited
MEGHAN MARKLE’S uncle last night accused the Royal bride-to-be of deepening an undignified family rift by failing to invite close relatives to her wedding.
Retired US diplomat Michael Markle said he was hurt by the snub and the ‘indifference’ shown by Prince Harry’s fiancee, adding: ‘It’s uncalled for.’
Michael, the brother of Meghan’s father Tom, said he felt particularly upset as he had helped his niece get her first job. His other brother Fred, a bishop, has also been left off the guest list, as has Joseph Johnson, Meghan’s uncle on her mother’s side.
None of Meghan’s half-siblings, aunts or cousins has been invited either, emphasising the growing family divide.
However, according to a Palace source, the list of 600 guests does
include several star names, including the celebrity vet who treated Meghan’s dog. And all of Harry’s aunts and uncles – Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Princess Anne – will be there.
Last night Michael, 78, who had a distinguished 19-year US government career, told The Mail on Sunday how he helped Meghan get a job at the American embassy in Argentina in 2001 when she was just 20 – a position she later boasted about in interviews.
‘I knew the ambassador and I asked him if he could help, as her application was a little on the late side,’ he said. ‘That’s why I don’t understand why she has been so indifferent towards me. It’s uncalled for. I helped her out and I didn’t ask for anything in return.
‘I’m upset and surprised about not being selected but if they don’t want me there, then I don’t want to go.
‘This whole invitation thing has not been played out very well. I never did anything to embarrass Meghan. It seems to me they handled the arrangements poorly.
‘It was not well thought-out because no Markles I know are going to the wedding, although you’d expect the bride’s father to be there. I’m disappointed, but I hope she has a good wedding.’
Michael’s daughter Trish Gallop, 58, added: ‘People usually invite their families to weddings, whether they are close or not. I would have loved to have given her my best wishes. We as a family are very saddened that we won’t be there to witness her beautiful celebration.’
The comments came amid growing disquiet about the wedding plans and who is ‘in’ and ‘out’.
Among those The Mail on Sunday understands are attending are TV ‘supervet’ Noel Fitzpatrick, former England football captain David Beckham and his wife Victoria, and tennis legend Serena Williams.
Victoria Beckham declined to confirm if she and her husband were going, while Prof Fitzpatrick, who treated Meghan’s beloved beagle Guy when he broke his legs, said: ‘No comment.’ However, Palace insiders say he is on the list.
The main cast members of Suits, the legal drama that propelled Meghan to fame, have been invited, a source close to the show said, adding: ‘They are thrilled. Everyone is planning their outfits but we’re all sworn to secrecy.’
Last week, Meghan’s half-brother, Tom Markle Jnr, spoke of how relatives were angry not to be invited. ‘She’s torn our entire family apart,’ he raged. ‘She’s clearly forgotten her roots.’ And his sister Samantha tweeted: ‘It’s time to “man up” @ HRHHenryWindsor. Shout outs about humanitarianism don’t work when you are allowing Meg to ignore the Markles.’
Meghan’s uncle Fred, a 72-yearold bishop at Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel in Sanford, Florida, declined to comment, but his brother Michael said he was not going: ‘He would have told me if he had been invited.’
Meghan’s father, who lives in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, was photographed working out last week in anticipation of walking his daughter down the aisle, and her mother Doria will definitely be there.
But Doria’s half-brother Joseph Johnson, 68, said ruefully: ‘We’re not invited unless our invitation got lost in the mail.’
Doria’s half-sister Saundra has not been invited either. She declined to comment on the snub.
Others not invited include Meghan’s nephews Tyler and Thomas Dooley and their mother Tracy, who was married to Tom Jnr.
Anglican writer and broadcaster Anne Atkins said: ‘A Christian wedding is a public event with the couple making a commitment in front of others. So ideally it should be a celebration to include as much of the family as possible, regardless of personal likes or dislikes.
‘After all, family and friends will be the ones to support them in their future together.’
In an interview with Marie Claire magazine, Meghan bragged about her embassy experience, saying: ‘I hated the idea of being this cliche, a girl from LA who decides to be an actress.
‘I wanted more than that and I had always loved politics so… applied for an internship [and] ended up working in the embassy in Buenos Aires for a few months.’
Kensington Palace officials have always maintained that both Meghan’s mother and father would be attending the wedding but refused to be drawn on other relatives, or whether her father would walk her down the aisle.
A source close to Meghan argued that as her parents divorced when she was two, she was effectively raised an only child, and was not close to her extended family, some of whom she had not spoken to in more than a decade. But Meghan’s half-sister Samantha said: ‘I last spoke to Meghan in 2014. It’s not a matter of closeness as 1,000 strangers are invited. Family is family.’
‘Maybe our invitation got lost in the mail’