Prince Harry and his family are no strangers to the spotlight, and now he's given the world
yet another fairy tale to follow in the news.
In May 2018, the prince modernized the palace by marrying Meghan Markle, an American actress
whose previous marriage and divorce challenged the cookie-cutter expectations of a royal
wedding.
Making matters even more headline-worthy, however, was the fact that some of Markle's
family members came out of the woodwork to create their own media circus ahead of the
couple's nuptial date.
Buckingham Palace may be notoriously good about controlling the narrative surrounding
the royal family, but Markle's relatives offered up some new challenges.
Here are just some of the stories that the royals probably didn't want you to hear about
Meghan Markle's family.
Criminal record
While she's often spoken positively about her parents in interviews, there may be a
reason Markle has chosen not to shine much of a spotlight on her paternal half-siblings.
Her brother, Thomas Markle, Jr., for example, has a serious rap sheet.
According to The Daily Mail, he was arrested at his home in Oregon in early 2017 for allegedly
pointing a gun at his then-girlfriend (and later fiancée), Darlene Blount, in an argument.
His son, Tyler Dooley, said his dad was remorseful.
“He knows it is an embarrassment to Meghan and the family," Dooley told The Sun​.
“He is very sorry and is apologising to everyone.
He just needs some time to heal and reflect on life."
Sibling sabotage
Thomas Markle Jr. made a very public attempt to dissuade His Highness from marrying his
half-sister.
Just weeks before the wedding, he reportedly wrote a letter that condemned Meghan for pretending
to be a "princess" when she's actually a, quote, "below C-level Hollywood actress."
He went on to say,
"[She's a] jaded, shallow, conceited [woman] that will make a joke of [Harry] and the royal
family heritage."
As if the name-calling and accusations weren't savage enough, Markle Jr. then went on to
tell Harry,
"As more time passes to your royal wedding, it [will] become very clear that this is the
biggest mistake in royal wedding history.
[…] You and the royal family should put an end to this fake fairytale wedding before
it's [too] late."
Sisterly shade
In early 2017, shortly after Meghan penned a Time magazine article about the impact of
menstrual cycles on poor international communities, her half-sister, Samantha Grant, spoke out
with some less than flattering remarks about her.
As detailed by The Sun, Grant went on a Twitter rampage questioning her little sister's status
as a true humanitarian.
She had previously accused Meghan of being a, quote, "shallow" social climber who idolized
Prince Harry even as a child because she liked redheads and aspired to be a princess.
Grant has since apologized and walked back on some of her words about her younger sister.
Family she never had
After Meghan spent time with the royals over the 2017 winter holidays, Prince Harry publicly
discussed how well it went.
"She's done an absolutely amazing job, she's getting in there and it's the family that
I suppose she's never had."
Thomas Markle Jr. decided to speak up against Harry's choice of words, telling the Daily
Mail that her supportive father wouldn't understand those comments, and saying,
"It was just a little shocking because Meghan had an amazing, amazing childhood growing
up and she had a lot of family.
[...] So, as far as 'the family that she never had,' I don't really get that."
Burdensome fame
According to Thomas Markle Jr., the small burst of secondary fame he's been given has
been nothing but burdensome.
He told In Touch that he and his legal team tried to communicate with the royal officials
about how to deal with the negative media scrutiny, and he didn't get the response he'd
hoped for from his sister.
He claimed,
"My lawyer had a phone meeting with her lawyer, and he emailed me some of [Meghan's] direct
words.
She said, 'That's distant family and I don't know those people.'
That's pretty harsh."
He claimed the response he received from Prince Harry's office, however, was simply,
"I am so sorry to hear you have been having a tough time with the media."
Cough it up
Thomas Markle Sr. reportedly filed for bankruptcy in 2016, and Meghan's siblings seem to think
it's her responsibility to help.
"If you are interested in helping those less fortunate than yourself, it really should
begin at home."
Markle Jr. claimed his father had won the state lottery when she was a child and devoted
a significant amount of his winnings to providing her a private education.
He told The Mail on Sunday,
"If Meg marries Harry she'll have won the lottery of life but dad winning the lottery
helped us all.
That money allowed Meg to go to the best schools and get the best training."
Meanwhile, Samantha Grant was much more direct and told Australia's Nine News,
"Honestly, what she could spend in a weekend would greatly help Dad, so that should be
a priority.
If you can afford $75,000 for a dress, you can afford $75,000 for Dad."
"You help your father in return for everything that he's done for you. It's that simple."
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