Clearing it up. Meghan Markle wants to clarify Prince Harry and Prince Charles’ relationship. The Duchess of Sussex talked about her relationship with her own dad that a lot of people mistook for Harry and Charles’ relationship.
In an interview with New York Magazine’s The Cut, Meghan revealed that “Harry said to me, ‘I lost my dad in this process.’ It doesn’t have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that’s his decision.” Though many suspected this quote to be about Harry and his relationship to Prince Charles, it was actually about Meghan and her relationship with her estranged father Thomas Markle, a rep of Meghan confirmed with Entertainment Tonight.
Meghan’s relationship with her father has been rocky ever since he got roped into the British media’s feud with the Duchess before Meghan’s wedding. The retired lighting director was reportedly photographed leaving a store with a pack of cigarettes and beer. After the photos were published, Thomas attempted to turn the narrative around by staging fake paparazzi photos of himself getting ready for his daughter’s big day just weeks before the wedding. The photos ranged from images of him working out, studying from a book entitled “Images of Great Britain: A Pictorial Tour Through History,” and attending a tuxedo fitting. Meghan’s father was absent during the couple’s wedding, so Charles walked her down the aisle instead. In March 2021, Thomas claimed that he apologized to the Sussexes “at least 100 times or so” for the scandal but “never heard back.”
In another bombshell reveal, Meghan told the outlet that she might return to social media. “Do you want to know a secret? I’m getting back…on Instagram.” Meghan talked about the limitations she had when she was in the Royal Family. “It was a big adjustment—a huge adjustment to go from that kind of autonomy to a different life,” she recalled in the interview. “There’s literally a structure by which if you want to release photos of your child, as a member of the family, you first have to give them to the Royal Rota.” Meghan used to have a moderately popular account before her marriage to Harry, but due to Royal family rules she had to share an account with Kate Middleton, Prince William and Harry on @KensingtonRoyal.
Image: Courtesy of Dey Street Books.
For more about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s time in the British royal family, read Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s New York Times bestseller, Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family. The book tells all on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s relationship, from how they met to their wedding to the birth of their son, Archie. Finding Freedom also dives into the “true story” of why Harry and Meghan left the royals at the end of 2019 and moved to the United States amid their secret drama with their family. Consisting of interviews and accounts with Harry and Meghan’s closest confidants, Finding Freedom is a must-read for any royal follower.
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