On Tuesday, Prince Harry chatted with BBC Radio 4 about his royal Christmas with Meghan Markle, and he actually said Meghan enjoyed her time with his family and that she’s “getting in there and it’s the family that I suppose she’s never had.” I took issue with that, as did many other people – Meghan is not an orphan, and she is very close to several members of her immediate and extended family. I wouldn’t blame her at all if she’s not particularly close to some members of her family – like the half-brother and half-sister who are eager to sell any story about her – but Harry really needs to stop with using that kind of language about Meghan’s family, honestly. Anyway, one of those half-siblings had some sh-t to say too.
Meghan Markle‘s estranged half-sister has fired back at Prince Harry after he called the royals the family that Meghan’s “never had.” Samantha Markle, the actress’ half-sister from her father Tom Markle’s first marriage, responded to Harry’s comments during special edition of Radio 4’s Today program on Wednesday, where the 33-year-old discussed Meghan’s “fantastic” first Christmas spent with his royal relatives.
“There’s always that family part of Christmas [where] there’s always that work element there as well, and I think together we had an amazing time,” Harry said. “We had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law and running round with the kids. Christmas was fantastic.” He added of Meghan adapting to family traditions, “She’s done an absolutely amazing job, she’s getting in there and it’s the family that I suppose she’s never had.”
Samantha shot back on Twitter Wednesday, “She has a large family. She always did. Our dad is amazing and completely self sacrificing. We made it so that she had two houses. How fun it was!” A previous tweet from Christmas Day also hinted that Samantha would be giving a glimpse into Meghan’s childhood in the upcoming book she is writing. She wrote, “Excited for my book coming out and wait until you see what our home life was like!”
Samantha Markle is so crass to chime in like this. I mean, if this was the first time we heard from her, I would be more sympathetic. But Samantha is literally writing a book called The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister. Samantha has been selling out her half-sister for more than a year. I don’t even believe Samantha knows the first thing about Meghan’s life.
Meanwhile, Us Weekly reports that Harry and Meghan have already made up their minds about the guest list and the Obamas are definitely invited:
Contrary to what he said on Wednesday, December 27, that he wasn’t sure if Barack Obama would be invited to his upcoming wedding to Meghan Markle, Prince Harry may have already extended an informal invite to the former President and First Lady, Michelle Obama.
“Harry has already told the Obamas he wants them at the wedding but because of the political side of things, like the immense pressure that would follow to invite the Trumps , their appearance at the wedding hangs in the balance,” a source tells Us Weekly. “If they don’t go, it will be because the Obamas have turned around and said ‘We understand the situation you’re in, let us make it easy for you.’”
Although no official invitations have been sent, the couple’s loved ones have already began planning for the big day. “The friends and family who are going to the wedding already know they’re going,” says the insider. “There are no friends, at least on Meghan’s side, that are in the dark about that. Lots have already booked time off work, planning outfits etc.”
I only just learned that St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle only seats about 800 people. This is not going to be the kind of situation where the mother of the bride ends up inviting utterly random people from Bucklebury just to burn through the allotted number of wedding invites (ahem, which is exactly what the Middletons did). Like, at William and Kate’s wedding, the rando dude from the Bucklebury pub was invited. Mere acquaintances of Carole Middleton were invited. So… that’s not going to happen with Harry and Meghan. She has friends and work colleagues and college mates and people she knows from her charity work. Harry will want to invite a lot of people from his life too – from the Army, from Invictus, from Sentebale and more. My point? It wouldn’t surprise me if the Obamas were on the list, but Harry and Meg don’t have the space to invite people they don’t care about or know very well.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid, PCN.
I agree Harry should stop making those kinds of comments. Just from an optics perspective it doesn’t read well because what kind of family did she not have?
BUT her sister needs to have ALL the seats. Not sure why they are estranged but clearly you have zero relationship with your sister. I doubt that will change now. Has she reached out in private (for longer than the year she hooked up with a prince) this would be different. But all this faux concern reads as thirsty.
Sadly every family has this person
+1
It’s also possible Meghan is OK with him saying that. If this half-sister is any indication, her family might very well suck.
I did a double take at that remark as soon as I heard it. If that’s what he actually meant to say, it’s grossly insulting to put something like that about your fiancee’s relationship with her family out in public, whoever you are. And if he tied himself up in word knots and it’s not what he meant to say – well, he should be better than that at interviews by now, surely?
Agree the sister is a charmless oaf.
I died a little inside when I heard it. I would rage out if I felt like my fiance was trying to white savior me on a public platform, even accidentally. I think it was a brain fart but I also think he meant it. Ugh.
Glad I’m not the only one who was totally put off by Harry’s comment. It’s both patronizing and dismissive of her family. Which is especially weird given how high profile dysfunctional Harry’s immediate family is.
I was thinking the same too. It seemed to open up the door for people to speculate about what her relationship with her family might be like. And it’s not clear to me that she’d really want people to speculate.
We all know about the problems in the royal family. And yet he seemed to position his family as “better” than hers. Maybe she might privately think so too, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she wants to share that information with the world. Also, she’s close to her mother (and possibly her father?), it seems, and the comments seem like a slight knock on them too.
I think we can safely say that Harry the Dim isn’t far off the mark. How noble, riding in on his white horse to save her from her life of abject misery and loneliness.
Just this once, I’ll give the sister a pass about speaking out. Just this once.
Also, I thought Will Not needed the Middleton clan to cling to, because his family is, well, not the warmest lot.
I think in this instance the sister had the right to say what she did. Divorced families have a different dynamic, but they are still family DUH, Harry of all people should know that. A different site had lots of comments about his dimness, and not I’m starting to see that. This comment about MM’s family and asking Pres. Obama about his underwear…hmmmm. This is gonna be one loooong engagement!
I must say – the Windsors aren’t the kind of family I’d aspire for my family to be like! 😉
Charles, cam, will, Harry, and their cousins all appear extremely close and warm! It’s that you almost exclusively see them in a ceremonial setting thst makes them look cold. When the guard is dropped they appear very sweet. George with Charles is said to be a riot.
I took the comment to mean a different dynamic. Which it is. Not really a bad thing.
As a whole the brf could never be mistaken for a warm, close family and that’s not uncommon but there’s no reason to spin the narrative. Elizabeth and Philip were not great parents, Charles and Diana were not great parents, divorces abound, Charles and Andrew hate one another, Charles has thrown his children under the bus to promote Camilla, Anne had a long, off and on affair with Camilla’s ex-husband, Beatrice and William are not as close as Eugenie and William, Edward and Anne have not always been close, Anne and Charles have not always been close, Diana and Fergie fought, Anne hated Diana, Philip hates Fergie and heaven knows what other squabbles abound with the minor royals and courtiers. When a cousin wears a piece of racist jewelry to a family dinner implicitly focused on welcoming a woc to the family I don’t think Harry should be spouting off about how much better his family experience will be for Meghan. Having said that I do believe Harry when he said Meghan has already met and spent some time with the people who matter – Liz and Phil, Charles and Camilla, Eugenie and the Cambridges. Meghan will be fine, overall.
Seems to me they deserve that comment. I would never speak to my sister (if i had one) if she did what Meghan’s sister is doing. They must be really bad for Harry to be speaking publicly
We know a bit about her extended family… Her brother has been a mess. He’s said their father met Harry when I had not. And that is from a son rhat barely speaks to his father at all. I predict he will be the “uncle gary” of this stuff.
Her half sister is also 17 yrs. older. That doesn’t foster a very close relationship usually as you are in way different places in your life. Then again, by the loving, caring (sarcasm!) half-sister’s own admission, some of that wonderful, big family referred to Meghan and her mother by the N-word! Some inclusive, loving family that is! Meghan is smart to detach from that trailer-trash half of the family IMO.
I know That Meg is close with her mother, and was very close to her grandmother (Doria’s mom)! The Raglands have been pretty quiet about Meghan which seems to be out of respect to Meghan and Doria, so we don’t know much about them. One uncle who had married in and since divorced released pics of Meghan from her mom’s side but they didn’t seem to go past mid-childhood if I recall, so who knows there?
Given she isn’t close to any of her siblings and that we have almost no pics of her with them past a certain age, I would say large family holiday get togethers were rare or non-existent with the Markles, and it seems Meghan expressed some enjoyment about having that with the BRF.
We have NO IDEA what type of family celebrations Meghan’’s family had. And unless she herself puts it out there, I am not going to speculate about it.
Harry made a bit of a mess there with his word salad, and opened the door to this mess. I hope he shuts it fast.
I agree but again he shouldn’t put that out there for public fodder. Because we get a story about her “less than” life which I’m sure if wonderful.
I get the impression her sister is a nutcase, but I don’t think he has to put out info that could cause the public to speculate. There might also be family members she actually likes.
Harry hadn’t even MET Meghan’s dad at the time of their engagement. That’s pretty illuminating about her relationship with him and the Markle side.
She didnt grow up with siblings and the ones she has are opportunistic trash. Implying she doesn’t have a big, extended family with a bunch a running kids at Christmas isn’t totally implausible.
Imq & Molly: Agree. Its pretty obvious. Not only that, Harry was really likely just repeating something Meghan herself said to him. Imq above has it right… Meghan wasn’t worshipped by her dad’s existing children – its been reported by multiple sources. Now she’s grown into this beautiful swan and they’re bitter! Im sorry but im enjoying it – I’m rooting for her all the way!
Harry might be repeating what Meghan said to him, but whether she actually wanted it said publicly we don’t know. I don’t necessarily think she wants the door opened for the media to speculate about private family matters. That’s where Harry’s comments seem a bit dim to me.
Ahhhh… Perspective. Thank you and also @stinky. I work in a field where you have to be very mindful of what and how you say something, the impact could be very bad – and we (and I) don’t get it right each and every time. We are humans and deserving of some latitude and forgiveness.
I think the most telling thing is that the half sister’s mom (not Meghan’s mom) has said that she’s a liar and estranged from the family.
I seriously doubt his remark was of the “white savior” ilk. It feels to m like a loving partner who realizes she and her mother weren’t appreciated wholly by their extended family. However this can be a misunderstood remark, best left fel and not stated.
Yup. I can soooo see my half-sister doing this. She’s that person in our family – caustic, irresponsible, jealous, just plain mean (and a Trump supporter, BIG time). We’re estranged, haven’t spoken to her in two years or seen her in about 20 years, but I know if I had some big time success like Meghan, she’d be doing the same sh!t. Run, Meghan, run! And I will NOT buy that book or even check it out of the library, her sister’s a bitter beyotch.
Only bitter/racist people that want their opinion of Meghan validated will buy that book. Plus, all the best bits will be reprinted by the trash rags, so here’s hoping the book tanks hard.
We have ours, and she is a freaking barnacle who won’t go away. She is an ex-wife of a relative, and I swear I thought my sister was going to shank her one-holiday gathering. Not my major warrior sister either. My level-headed warrior sister who is like my father and stealth before she strikes.
She is always trying to cause something, and she is jealous of everyone who she perceives has more than she does.
I didn’t like Harry’s comment and I support her sister’s comment – even though I think she’s being overall thirsty. That wasn’t a very nice comment of Harry to make about her family of origin, from what few pictures I’ve seen it seems like they had some happy times. Now when Megan’s dad goes to the wedding it’s going be awkard when he meets Harry although Harry’ll probably smooth that over.
I thought Harry’s comments were more of a – she grew up just she and her mom, with occasional dad visits- and I have a hundred relatives over for Christmas. I thought it was an actual- my family is giant- remark, more than a -she’s practically an orphan response.
But perhaps I am a ginger prince apologist.
But can I tell you, I strongly despise this half sister. What an awful person. She isn’t Ms Markle’s family b/c they haven’t spoken in YEARS. Awful, trashy, vulgar and gross. And cashing in.
Yes. She is a nasty bag of garbage with a decade of used kitty litter in it.
Ariel, I thought of the remark in same way you heard it. Here’s why:
I have a nice family, but it is small, quiet, and scattered around the globe, and a few died before their time. When I married Mr L., whose family is enormous, very lively, and largely settled in one area like the great Irish family it is, not to mention his very tight friend group who are like another pile of brothers and sisters……
….I said, “wow…this is the family I never had.”
Verbatim. Meaning, number of, in a big pile around us, and as lively and colorful as a movie about a zany family. They’re fabulous. In no way am I thinking less of my own birth family or group of dear friends. In no way is it a slur. When Mr L repeats the remark to friends or colleagues, or I do, they totally get it.
Side note: that sister of MM’s should be as banned as banned can get from the wedding, I M O. What a bucket of angry envy. Drool and claws.
This is precisely what he meant, I’m sure. It’s simply a fact- she didn’t have the big family and all that comes with it, including support. Nothing offensive. I wrote below, my situation was the same. Just the family I never had, a big, close knit, not necessarily perfect but present family (my partner’s) compared to my one parent and one aunt left alive. It is a very different reality , fact.
@Helenw, exactly. It’s just a different experience.
I don’t think Harvey should stop saying anything, I’m sure Meghan gave him permission to share with others what she’s shared with him- that was a bit of subtle shad to Meghan’s trashy no account ESTRANGED half sister who wasn’t even around when Meghan was growing as she’s much older.
That Samantha is an embarrassment, she readily admits to having no relationship with her own full brother, calling him names and maligning him(a guy who’s said only nice lovely things about Meghan- hope he gets an invite).
Her family was fractured and not close, and her half siblings are years older and weren’t around, I’m sure she is enjoying the closeness of the royal siblings and the nephew and niece. It was just her and her Mom, as it is more than apparent her Dad’s side of the family, and most of his kids by his first wife are trifling.
This is true but it is just indelicate to bring this to the forefront of the public barrative, especially when you already know that the media pounces on every little thing.
Harry is always being misinterpreted as usual. He meant that Meghan has not experienced big family get togethers. Her parents divorced when she was six, and although she spent time with her father she was clearly split between two families. Also her mother only has half siblings too, and so there is no tight family on that side too. Harry was just telling the truth, he was not being rude about her parents or saying that she was not loved. He was stating a fact.
Her half siblings really are trash and proven liars. Thankfully she did not spend too much time under their bad influence. I am sure she soon saw that they were the kind of people to keep a distance from.
The sentence: “Excited for my book coming out and wait until you see what our home life was like!” tells us all we need to know about this woman and what kind of relationship she has with Meghan. If she were a good sister as she claims – she wouldn’t even think for a second about writing a book about her sister’s personal life. Leech would be a better word to describe her rather than sister.
Nice
+1. This is no sister, this chic wants some of MMs fame/spotlight.
But will that book come out? Could she really have it published some time in the future? She’s talked about writing it before publishing it so there’s little or no chance of backing off? I was kind of expecting some questionable things coming out but a book? With a volume 2 or 3 maybe? I feel for Meghan.
she could go the way of DIY self-publishing to get it out there. I see that happening sooner than her actually finding a publisher for this garbage.
Poor Meghan. No surprise they’re estranged.
Maybe Meg’s half sister and former best friend can start a support group.
“Princess Pushy?” Pretty much tells you everything you need to know about Sad Samantha.
she’s 17 years older than Meghan – what kind of a “home life” could two half-siblings in such radically different places in their lives really even share? It’s not like they grew up together, or even shared Meghan’s custodial parent, which would mean more time together.
My oldest sister is 17 years older than my youngest sister. And despite the fact that my sister was away at college and then law school for a lot of my youngest sister’s growing up years, they are still really, really close. So it really depends on the situation. But in Meg’s case, it sounds more like an active estrangement and jealousy rather than the age gap.
@OrangeCheetoBegone full siblings, or half?
My best friend has a sister 17 years younger. It is her half sister and they have the same mom. She is very close with her now 16 year old sister, but it’s probably because she is also very close with her mom. She goes to her sister’s sports games and school events and they get their nails done, see movies together etc. She lived at home during college and took her little sister places and babysat her a lot. It can happen, but it depends on the family dynamics. Because they have the same mom and lived together for a number of years, they are close. I don’t think Meghan grew up with her sister and had her sister participating in her life when Meghan was a child.
The half-sister needs to check herself regarding her public outbursts. If she’s writing a book in private then so be it.
As an aside, I think she has been diagnosed with Multiple Schlerosis which can have a mood disorder component. Perhaps that explains some of this behaviour. And if that’s the cause, I hope she gets medical help to ease her rage and lashing out.
Yes, members of her family have said she’s always been difficult, so she may been dealing with impulse control problems all her life. About the MS symptoms, I’ve heard the same and I think it’s a combination of that and her basic struggle to deal with the loss of her vibrancy, independence and so many other intangibles, like attractiveness or sex appeal, that are at work here. Too, I think she may have grown up in an intolerant environment, and despite a natural desire to love her younger sibling, it was just easier to fit in with those she associated with daily. Bottom line, she doesn’t sound like the type who matures into that person who always takes the high road. Despite her being old enough to be MM’s teen-mom, she’s been fighting too many demons (to include some envy) to bridge the age gap and make amends.
Oh geez, it’s going to be a long stretch of this woman gossiping at every little thing. They’re not even married yet:(
Meghan and her mom are close. If Doria has siblings, we haven’t heard from them. So let’s assume it has been just them and Meghan is now going to be part of a large family with extended relatives and they all decamp to a particular area for 3 days with Granny and Grandpa. It’s going to feel different from being your mother’s only child.
Samantha Markle is trash and Meghan is right to cut toxic people who don’t have her best interests at heart. Why people are giving this vile woman anything is beyond me.
We’ve heard from some of Dora’s family. Rumour has it they were paid the same as MM’s ex-bestie.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5140059/amp/Meghan-Markles-parents-Tom-Dorias-wedding-revealed.html#ampshare=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5140059/Meghan-Markles-parents-Tom-Dorias-wedding-revealed.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5139963/Meghans-grandmother-Jeanette-different-Queen.html
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5139821/amp/Meghan-Markles-family-share-intimate-private-photo-album.html#ampshare=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5139821/Meghan-Markles-family-share-intimate-private-photo-album.html
+1 Original Mia.
I feel for Meghan. She seems very happy and has had to put up with family members and ex best friends selling her out for their 5 mins and a quick buck. Mind u the same thing happened to Katie Keen and her colourful family members.
I forgot Carole would rather invite strangers over her extended family members who lived on a council estate.
She does seem very happy, doesn’t she? It’s nice to see.
This is what I’m enjoying. Meghan has pursued her own interests and worked to get where she was in life. To find happiness along the way is a gift. I’m looking forward to what these two do re: helping others. It goes a long way to improving well being of others worldwide due to their influence at the very least.
Perhaps being distanced from the attention-seekers back in the US and forming a new group of friends in the UK loyal to her & Harry will be good antidote.
I often thought it would be hard to start over in a new country and in such an insular situation as she is in. But, if Harry has close, loyal friends he can trust, perhaps Meghan will benefit from those.
I’ve read about the sister and it does sound like a lot has gone wrong in her life…so I get her anger at seeing Meghan excel at everything. But this is not the way.
Interesting that her friend who was selling everything has quieted down though! I wonder if she got a pay-off…or she just ran out of material.
The friend could have been instructed not to talk about Meghan by some legal offices. Maybe she saw the backlash and criticism from people in her life too. Maybe she’s decided she was wrong.
I am still curious to see if the sister’s book will come out. That would include a lot more material than what came out in those few interviews. But many books were published in the UK about living members of the BRF, by British authors and non-sanctioned by the BRF. So everything is possible especially from the US side. I don’t know how freedom of expression works in the US in regards to slender. But the book may present Meghan in a good light but the title says it all. And the sister’s willingness to talk about Meghan. Many editors and lawyers will be involved at who knows at what cost. And who would buy that book anyway?
Who would have instructed her to be quiet? Americans have a first Amendment right, as does the press. I hope the Royals arent bullying people into shutting up. Like it or not, the friend has a right to speak, as long as it’s truthful.
I’m thinking she was paid off.
Veronica, I said “maybe”. And it’s not about bullying people to shut up. There’re many books and articles out there that put the BRF in a very bad light. A lot worse than anything that that women has said about Meghan whether true or lie. Paying her off could be a possibility and in case it were true, legal offices were involved. With very strict conditions. No one other than those involved would know anything. Otherwise it would set a precedent. People would come out with whatever sh!t and expect a big payment.
Veronica, the first amendment does not protect one from consequences. If she was threatened with lawsuits or public discrediting, no one’s first amendment rights were violated.
I am quite sure that the Daily Mail is saving something up to print just before the wedding, probably about Meghan’s parents. They probably had the ‘best friend’ story and saved it up to use for the engagement so definitely they are saving something up to use as a big headline just before the wedding.
I really feel sorry for Meghan and Harry. The Daily Mail has behaved in an appalling way, and I am really getting tired of responding to the cruel and racist comments. I noticed some pro Meghan people have grown tired and stopped trying to defend her over there, although some new people have joined but we are still too few to make a positive impact. I know so many decent people who now would no longer touch DM with a barge pole.
The thing is they have nice pictures, and also most of the articles about the royal family on celebitchy are actually based on DM stories. So what do we do?
That woman needs to put a sock in it.
Why are his comments so mis-characterized? It’s like context has no meaning anymore. He prefaces the statement with the fact that he has a large family and it’s a mix of family AND royal duties, and then he says that “it’s a family I suppose she’s never had” That is the truth. Most families in the world only have the duty of maybe going to more than one house on Christmas. Few families and reserved mostly to royalty have to spend their day meeting the public and engaging in a photo opportunity.
The lack of context when people just grab quotes is so intellectually dishonest that I question why people insist on doing it. Context matters, people rarely say statements in a vacuum.
Exactly, and I like the Kensington Palace didn’t try to explain what was said because it wasn’t a dig at Meghan’s family. From the article linked below.
“A Kensington Palace spokesperson said Prince Harry’s “comments speak for themselves”.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-42501630
This x1000
@Noneya (love this name, by the way! 😀) Why let the truth — in this case, context — get in the way of a false concern, misappropriated uproar, and clicks? Unfortunately, this story has overshadowed a great (and the first) interview with President Obama and a nice one with Prince Charles.
Thank you noneya, I couldn’t figure out what was so offensive or wrong with what he said. I understood it the same way as you did.
That’s how I read it too. She’s marrying into not only a family, but an incredibly high profile family business with international influence. It’s a big deal. Harry has grown up with it and it’s more or less his normal. Meghan has not, and his family is very unlike hers in many, many ways. So yeah, it’s a family environment she’s never had before, not *the* family she’s never had.
I often wonder about the statements people get up in arms about. Sometimes when you read the larger paragraph it makes sense and there’s nothing to get upset over. Sometimes the context just makes it worse. Context matters, but context is no fun when there’s outrage to be had.
In that case, no one really has a family like Harry’s. Who actually does? Even in full I thought his comment was a little weird, because of how people could then run away with rampant speculation in the media about what her relationship with her family is like.
The phrases “a family” and “the family” have two very different meanings. I believe the quote is “the family,” which, in context, is a direct comparison of this family by marriage to her actual family.
Brava!
So well said, Noneya !
He said “THE family” that has a different meaning than “A family.” The former implies its the only family. The latter implies its one of many. If you’re going to complain about everyone misquoting it at least get the actual quote right…
Yes, he did. And I also don’t see how it’s offensive to her family. Truth is her family was not very close, from many quotes and facts presented. She, I bet, did not have those big holiday gatherings, numerous cousins, nephews and in laws around to be with and so on. I was in her situation and to me my partner’s big family was indeed the one I never had. Nothing offensive. Just fact, really.
Helenw, our experiences are similar as noted earlier above. I am not buying the A versus The difference here, for the reason I stated above.
Well said Noneya!
@noneya ++1000000
This comment to everything printed these days and the lack of context. People don’t want context because it means they will have to think instead of jumping on a band-wagon.
Didn’t 45 make a comment about wanting to ask Princess Diana on a date or something like that? If I was Harry I don’t know if I would want him at my wedding. He is just so rude and obnoxious
Yes, if she took an HIV test first!!!
Harry is not the heir; I see no reason why current heads of state would need to be on the guest list unless the bride & groom want them. Besides, the Obamas by themselves would represent the U.S. quite nicely; no need to invite the Rumps as well.
He bombarded her with flowers after the divorce to the point of her feeling like he was stalking her.
And then after she died he said he regretted not sleeping with her.
… and that she was crazy. He said that crazy chicks are best in bed, and figured she’d be great. He’s disgusting.
First off, I doubt Samantha and Meghan were close given their age difference. Second, does she have a google alert or something?? Third, FFS, stop hating on your half sister who I’m sure you barely know. You are a woman in your 50s!! She really needs to find something else to do. I hope no one buys her stupid book!
She seems too eager to push this “Brady Bunch-eque” narrative which makes me think that all is not it appears to be.
Clearly they weren’t close, but I don’t quite get why age difference matters. I have a similar age difference with an aunt, who I’ve always thought of as like an older sister. Obviously a 17 year age difference means they weren’t raised as traditional siblings, but plenty of close in age siblings are estranged while more distant relations are close.
Meghan is from her father’s second marriage.
Totally normal in this day and age. Sometimes half siblings are close, sometimes not. In this case not, but the mere fact of age difference isn’t the reason this relationship is exceptionally strained is all I’m saying.
It must be a huge disappointment to have your sister (or any family member) sell you out for their 15 minutes of family. I agree with the others on here who state we see what type of person this woman is and personally, who really cares what she has to say. She has a much higher lever of self worth than she is due.
Poor MM is correct, I feel for her too. I wish her the best of luck.
Agree. I feel for Meghan too. Hope they leave her alone.
Love how he thinks walking into a church and saying hi to the common people is “work” …. ffs!
The amount of money their 4 outfits cost- thousands! And then they talk to us about poverty and homelessness. Its a joke. I don’t how you can all gush over them like you do. And no, before i get “do you expect them to wear a £50 coat?? No, i don’t. But try justifying Kate’s 170k or whatever fashion budget to me. They make a fool out of the lemmings who worship them!
I’ll take the royal family any day over the demented do-nothing we have in the White House right now.
Damning with faint praise, huh?
More “what-aboutism.”
We can get rid of Trump. The Brits will pay for these people who call a stroll to Church “work” the rest of their lives.
Harry the Dim really really is out of touch. The more he talks, the more he shows of his world view.
At least they let thousands of people die in Puerto Rico. 45 is dangerous, and people lose their lives. I know what you mean Alix.
The truth is when a royal wears an expensive outfit it often not just get sold out but many similar cheaper designs sell out or get made and this really can turn many businesses around. When Meghan wore those sunglasses at Invictus it turned around the fortunes of the company who designed and marketed them in Scotland and also the Italian manufacturers. These types of benefits are often hard to calculate but they are enormous.
@Falum you really need to understand the enormous influence the RF has in so many spheres.
Sorry, but any public appearance for him is indeed work. He’s on display and not just enjoying a moment with his family. Whole different dynamic and stress level and it is very different from a private event with the family. Just because it doesn’t involve hard labor doesn’t make it not a work event.
…I’m not sure if people should be taking issue with what Harry said? I mean, Meghan has a big family, and she is obviously loved by (some) of them deeply – but there’s also obviously been a lot of drama, even before her relationship was made public, and we don’t know exactly what she may feel towards her old family unit as a whole, even if she deeply loves the individual members (especially as there was a divorce, which even in the most amicable circumstances can cause the children of that relationship to react a bit differently to family-centric events like Christmas). It’s been noted before here at Celebitchy that the Windsor Christmas can sound incredibly unappealing, given the lodgings and the rigid traditions – but Meghan may have found something in it that made her more comfortable there than with her birth family. Or hell, maybe she didn’t – but unless Meghan herself contradicts Harry, it seems a little presumptive for anyone to be ‘taking issue’ with what he said about how she feels regarding their family. After all, he’s engaged to her, so one would hope that he knows her well enough to be able to express that kind of opinion – and given that he’s met certain members of the Markle family and not others, he’s probably far more aware of the specific dynamics of that family and how Meghan feels towards them than any outsiders.
It should have been kept private.
@Enough Already – exactly. This had no business being expressed publicly. It would have been perfectly fine to talk about how quickly she was becoming acclimatized and what a wonderful time they’d had with William and Kate and the kids. Now, the focus is on that one remark, the sister’s response, instead of two brothers and future sisters in law having fun with two cute kids at Christmas. Honestly, what possessed him to say something so tactless?!
Privilege often nullifies caution. He will learn, however, or keep taking these hits. This hurting Meghan is the thing that will actually get through to him, I believe.
Why, exactly? I’ve got toxic family members, and am not in contact with them. I’m not ashamed of this fact, but it does get old having people react with disbelief and asking for justification. “Keeping it private” is how so many people never find the strength to get out of abusive family dynamics.
LOL…like the Windsors have never seen drama. Shut up Harry. End of story. The sister is a bit off, but she had a point. The palace is slipping. They should have vetted everyone and made a pay off. The drip drip on MM is painful…
Seriously. I bet the Windsor family would eat Meghan’s sister alive.
Meghan seemed to be brought up as an only child. She is Doria’s Only child. She was very close with her grandmother. Doria also has an older half brother. She spent a lot of time with her dad when she was younger but he now sounds like a recluse. The half siblings were much older and they both sound dysfunctional.
As for her family.. she clearly chose to disassociate herself from them. Maybe they are leeches or maybe she thought herself better than them as an actress. Now she is mattying that family she won’t want to know them.i guess if i can see why the sister is pissed off at being shut off for just being a normal working class person.
I feel sad for her mom. She could at least have fliwn her to london to celebrate some of it together. She is her only child i gather? Very strange.
If her mother wanted to fly to London she could book a flight to fly to London.She has a life,a career,etc.She is not poor,she is an educated professional.I only feel sad that now she has to have armed security outside her house because her daughter is engaged to Harry.She seems to be a private person with no interest in being famous.
This fame/money hungry half sister has not seen Meghan in 10 years according to the paid interview she did with The Daily Mail.She needs to have several seats.
“We made it so that she had two houses.” Yeah, what kid doesn’t love splitting their holiday between their parents’ separate homes? Shut up, wench.
Alix: LOL!!!
@Falum, Samantha Grant’s own mother (who has no relation to Meghan) has described her as racist & abusive. But don’t let that get in the way of your ‘Meghan is an uppity social climber’ fanfiction.
Her other half sibling is a domestic abuser. The fact that she’s cut them out of her life makes me like her even more. It says a lot about her character.
@lola…
You are so far of MMs ass there is no point in engaging in a conversation about them. Have a good day.
@Falum, in other words, you know your comment is groundless & have no counterargument.
The way people talk about women (especially WOC) on this site is so unbelievably toxic. It makes my blood boil. I just can’t let vicious scandalmongering to go unchallenged, sorry.
ETA: your response to finding out that a WOC might have been subjected to racism by her own family very telling.
yeah, this half-sister has been spouting this garbage ever since news broke of H&M’s relationship. I’m not sure why you’d want to give such a proven nasty person the benefit of the doubt here. Half-sister clearly wants to be a victim of Meghan setting her own boundaries for her life instead of looking inward at herself and her own behavior to figure out WHY Meghan wants no contact with her.
Can you explain what you notice about the racists? I feel that since 45 has been around people let their bigot flag fly free. It is appalling, and it has changed my relationships with several people.
How is it strange? Parents and adult children don’t always live in the same city or town and sometimes they may not see each other on Christmas. That’s life and it’s not unique in this situation. Doria has a job and her own life to tend to and she may not have wanted to disrupt it to travel to London this Christmas. Doria’s life doesn’t revolve around her adult daughter’s life decisions.
Falum, Meghan flew out to LA before Christmas to spend time with her mother. Lots of families do that. They can’t be in two places on the day itself. Personally I don’t think it’s a big deal.
Blood families do seem to sort of lose their children when they marry into royalty. I think there’s a brief struggle for some sort of parity, and then the former child/sibling is swallowed up by the stronger force. Ironically, the Middletons seem to be the exception, but too far in the other direction. Even the Spencers, with their artisto background, wealth, and ties with the BRF ended up well back in second place after Diana married Charles. They’re like octopi and end up completely encircling the new member till it becomes part of the host.
Sophie’s father is allowed but it’s only because he has no one but his daughter.
Doesn’t Sophie have a brother?
Just an idea to throw into the mix. Maybe her mother has a life of her own and special someone and isn’t sentimental about holidays.
PLease. Sophie has a brother and nephews. Let’s stick with actual facts.
Some people don’t celebrate Christmas (there are other religions in the world)…
Suppositions about her family are ridiculous …To my knowledge I don’t think that Meghan has ever addressed her displeasure- she has only ever publicly spoken highly of her parents…
You can only speak about other people (who it appears are BITTER…ie, the FORMER Best Friend and the half sister) & to use their view/opinion as FACT is irrational.
People change & people enter and leave your life- that’s LIFE
I can see why she doesn’t talk to most of her family anymore. Look at the way her sister and other family members and friends all coming out with stories on her, because she’s marrying royalty. She has been in public eye, being in Suits for a few years already and they never spoke up before.
I read Gary Goldsmith is also writing a book. About life with the Middletons.
Where did you read that? No snark. I doubt that G would do that. And I am pretty sure they, including GG, signed some sort of NDAs before Kate married Will. There is no way that or something similar to that didn’t happen with all the deets coming from Diana or her friends and even Fergie. Let us remember that G isn’t a wallflower either. He may be rich, could have sponsored their lifestyle pre-wedding but coming out with a book on the Midds is unlikely. Not that it wouldn’t be interesting. I’d read it.
Don’t remember sorry. It was the same article or post that announced that Samantha is writing a book about her sister.
Oh, thanks Maria. As far as I remember there was a fallout in the Midds-G group. He was invited only to the religious service when Pipps got married, not at the reception, and his wife was not invited at either event or so was the narative. And he was physically and verbally abusive towards his wife. So one could see he could have been cut off and that he might write a book. But again, it’s highly unlikely.
I don’t see why Uncle Gary would sign an NDA… he wasn’t employed by the Middletons but was family, and likely the one who provided the money to help fund the “catch a prince” endeavour. I am not saying he would write a book about them, but he would have no reason to sign any type of agreement.
I definitely see the possibility of some sort of NDA. The Midds spent about two decades and millions of pounds to make that wedding possible. And the BRF have been through too much image wise with Diana and Fergie as married-ins while married and after the two divorces. Interviews and books included.
This woman is proof positive that sharing blood doesn’t make you family.
Harry’s mistaken. Meghan already has a family rife with divorce, feuding siblings, opportunism and endless drama.
+1 ah, the irony here…
Lol.
This half sis is a leech and probably knows she’s not invited to the wedding. Sammy made a comment that marrying extends the family. She wants to be seen as important because Harry put a ring on it.
ugh, that old line. Marriage does not extend families; marriage is the creation of a new family.
It was a foolish remark on Harry’s part – “the family she never had” kind of erases everyone, including those members she may actually be fond of, and who after all will soon be his in-laws. And it unintentionally throws shade at her mother for bad choices and not having given Markle a proper family. Tactless and ill-timed, and gave a family member an opportunity he should have known she would take. Harry should have known better – It confirms my opinion of him as a dim bulb so privileged that he never really pays a price for his mistakes. As for the “sister” herself – I don’t know who she thinks she’s kidding, but she clearly never heard that saying about discretion being the better part of valor.
I was also interested in Harry’s comments about what a great time he and Markle had at Anmer Hall, where he and Markle apparently did stay after all. So much for the feud everyone seemed to be hoping for. They’re all four probably grateful to have each other in the midst of Windsor dysfunction: same age, same generation and all that.
No sign of a feud, or bad blood. Although, given their differences, I doubt the women will become best friends (sort of hope not, given what happened to the last “besties” in the Palace), I do believe they will become friendly, and work together with civility and fondness. The brothers are obviously close and always will be.
I don’t think Harry’s comment was terrible, only tactless and not particularly PR savvy. Regardless of what he did or didn’t mean, it will be pounced on. He should, by now, know better.
Meghan’s sister is very rude and certainly making stupid mistakes. But she isn’t the first family member to do so (Sophie’s brother sold photos of his own son’s christening and we all know Uncle Gary’s shortcomings), so as long as the royals themselves stay away, it will alll pass.
Who is MM close to in her [immediate] family aside from her mother?
Not close enough to her father to introduce him to harry in the 1.75 years they were dating before they were engaged.
exactly.
odd.
I thought the dots suggested that her dad skipped out on his debts & moved to Mexico (where he remains). So ya, im sure he’s not exactly liking the spotlight.
Seems like people have forgotten her mother has family members too. Just because they aren’t selling stories to the media doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Meghan was reportedly close to her grandmother at least.
No one has any idea. She has not commented publicly on it.
Some of these comments about her family are really out of line.
The engagement interview was very telling. When the interviewer asked her what her family thought about her relationship with Harry she mentioned her parents and then quickly started talking about the reaction of her friends. I think for many years in her adult life friends have replaced the extended family
I was more put off by his comments about work. But I can see where’s he coming from with Meghan, she comes from a broken home (but so did he?). I guess he meant she’s not close with extended family? Sounds like it was mostly her and her mom growing up.
Oh Lord. If I were ever in similar shoes, I can only imagine what some of my relatives would try to dish out about me. As they say, you can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family. I feel for her. :/
The media latches onto any gossip they can find. I don’t think Harry should contribute to it.
I don’t think Harry would have made such stupid statement if he didn’t have at least some impression that Meghan is a sweet lonely woman. She probably mentioned once or twice that she always longed to have a family and never really had one. It actually helps if you’re looking to get married to hint things like that to a guy.
Either way, last time I checked Wills was claimed to have been so keen to marry Kate because he dreamed of being the part of a normal family. So if anything, Harry is mixed up a bit.
Yeah, Harry is repeating something Meghan said, but that’s not for public consumption. She does have a mother and father whose feelings should be considered before blurting out something like that, and did have an aunt and family on her mother’s side. She was close to her father when young. She talked about being on the set of Married with Children all the time for the ten years when he worked as DP there. The other side of the family she didn’t become estranged from until later, and they were much older than her anyway. The half-sister is 17 years older than Meghan. She would have been even out of her dad’s home within a year or so after Meghan was born.
And the BRF is nothing I would want to have as a family as an example. But I do think Kate and William are probably very inviting and fun to spend Christmas with and the children and there are others that are very warm in the extended family. Harry and William are close and fun together and Kate her age, with cute little children running around. Meghan grew up with no siblings. The half-siblings were much older. So, to Harry’s eye, from what she probably mentioned, it was a more joyous Christmas for her with so much family around.
But I can see why William was drawn to the Middletons after the way he grew up. He remembers a lot more than Harry before his mother died. So the Middletons, still happily married and living in a warm, probably more relaxed family home, and God knows Kate’s mom doting on him, must feel like a real second home to him. My brother-in-law felt the same way about my parents’ home. He loved his parents, but my sister wanted Christmas every year with my parents. He agreed, because he loved the warmth and relaxed atmosphere with all of us a lot more.
Well many the atmosphere at Amner House IS that of normal family life, which Harry is describing and so maybe he should indirectly be thanking the Middleton’s for giving Meghan such a nice Xmas. I think Harry was referring to the Amner experience more than the Sandringham experience.
Meghan’s older half sister Samantha is angry at the hand life dealt her and seems to be under the belief Meghan owes her for the life she has now because she helped raise her when Meghan was young (or so she claims). We have no idea what their relationship was like when Meghan was young or why Meghan chose to distance herself but I can’t say I don’t blame Meghan for not staying in touch with her. I know Samantha is diagnosed with MS and confined to a wheelchair and she’s accused Meghan of not staying in touch with her after her MS diagnosis. Judging by how bitter she sounds and the conflicting stories she’s told the press (as in she’s lied repeatedly and changed her story saying Meghan is a social climber and not what she seems then turning around and wishing her well after the engagement), it’s no wonder Meghan chose to disassociate herself from her!
Samantha’s own mother Roslyn (Meghan’s father’s first wife) has even spoken out saying she’s disowned Samantha saying Samantha is lying about Meghan and only has said nice things about Meghan so it just sounds like Samantha is jealous of her sister’s life and angry she isn’t being recognized for whatever reason. I doubt she’ll be invited to the wedding and hopefully she’ll learn to shut up. No one is going to read her book.
Harry is so used to people speculating about his family life in a public manner I guess I’m just baffled that he’d open up his future wife to that speculation. He’s privileged, but he also has experience and experience would tell you that the media latches on to words that they can investigate.
Harry is a good guy, but he sticks his foot in his mouth every once in a while.
As for the half-sister, she is just an evil mess. Her own mom doesn’t like her. Even her brother, who has his own set of problems, calls out his sister and her continual selling of hateful stories about Meghan.
Yp @perplexed. Enjoying her new family instead of the family she never had. I don’t think he said that deliberately but he did open a door for a lot of speculation.
Oh boy. Who would want to read this book about her family? Her family is of no interest to me, frankly. Same freaks and geeks as every other family I would think? And I doubt the sister was around to raise her much past the age of 20 or so. when most adult children start to fly the nest. Countdown to irrelevancy begins now!
I don’t even think she has a book deal, no offers. She just keeps bringing it up, hoping to get a bite. I doubt it will ever go anywhere or, if published, very low sales. Andrew Morton is writing a book on Meghan, to be published by the time of the wedding. That will be the one that sells.
It’s no secret that Meghan isn’t close with her dad’s side of the family. None of them have even met Harry. All the stories are about Doria which gives the impression that her family is basically just Doria.
Her dad lives in Mexico, right? So a big Christmas celebration with extended family probably isn’t something she is used to. I don’t see why his statement is controversial. Maybe she wouldn’t want that public, but I’m guessing he was just repeating what she told him.
She is 36 years old. He hasn’t lived there all those 36 years – he spent her elementary school years working in Hollywood. So she may well have had holidays with an extended family during her childhood.
The thing is, we don’t know, and we shouldn’t know. Now the door has been opened and everyone feels free to speculate.
I laughed when I saw her sister run her mouth again. I thought she pretty much proved Harry’s point. Obviously Meghan is close to her mom, and don’t think he was talking about her mom. He seems close to her as well. But her dad’s side runs their mouth off about her, her sister trashed her. Then after they got engaged her mom’s side sold pics of Meghan as a kid.
Yeah, I agree with you. I think Harry is head over heels, and he wasn’t careful about how he made his comment. By now, Meghan has told him the full story from her perspective, and yes, it’s clear that she’s close to her mother but dealt with major drama from the father’s side.
I get what Harry was trying to do. Not everyone has a large family or siblings they are close to – so, for some people, large family gatherings are just not a thing. However, if my fiance referred to HIS family as “being the family I never had”, I’d be irritated. Family is family, large or small. Seems to me that Harry just doesn’t think about some of the things that come out of his mouth.
Innocent mistake? Absolutely. But it doesn’t mean it’s not annoying.
That being said, I really feel badly for Meghan. Samantha seems like such a rude, unhappy woman. All I can say is that I wouldn’t trade my life for Meghan’s life now for anything in the world.
What Harry said was insensitive, I do not care about sister but you cannot say something like that publicly.
Yes, it was insensitive. One could interpret it charitably as meaning never had a family like THIS (which would be true for better or worse).
But it would more likely be seen as if she’d basically never had a warm and supportive family before. There’s little doubt she’s close to her mom, but it sounds as if her dad did all he could to give her what she needed to reach her dreams; private school, expensive lessons, open invites to visit him on set, etc. Regardless of how she feels about he father now, I think she should find a graceful way to address the dust-up over Harry’s statement and should acknowledge the support that she DID have. It may be no one’s business, but I’m sure it has caused great hurt to those who supported her in whatever fashion that they could.
If he had said less or more, it would have been more understandable.
Less: “Meghan had a great time meeting my family. A really enjoyable time was had by all of us – particularly running around after the kids.”
More: “Meghan had a great time meeting my family. My family is very large with a unique public role, which can be overwhelming. She did a great job taking it all in. We also enjoyed running around with the kids.”
Anyone that supports hey sister’s comments probably doesn’t have siblings like Megan’s .
I’m TEAM HARRY 100%. I took his comment as in she feels very comfortable around his family. I did not even think it was derogatory towards her own family.
The sister is taking any opportunity at this point to make her sister look bad and she will continue until somebody shuts her up.
Trust me , I have 2 very nasty and jealous siblings that would sell me out in 5 minutes for a dollar or just some attention.
Harry is dumb, it’s like he can’t learn to shut up. Being born a royal doesn’t mean you learn to be quiet I see. The wedding is in a few months and he just dissed her whole family and came across patronizing. His family is known for being a great one, duh. He wants to protect Meghan, I wonder if she got the wrong idea that her family was nightmar-ish and he gets to be a prince to rescue her. Well, literally he’s a prince.
From the outside looking in, this relationship seems so bizarre…like a trashy reality show.
Maybe it was a brain fart but it’s still insensitive to make that kind of comment in public. I also think it’s insulting to her mom whom she’s clearly very close too. In fact people always speak of her dad side of the family as “ her family” because they are loud and attention seeking but there’s a whole side of her family that we don’t hear from and she reportedly is closer too ( her moms side).
Also Meghan seems a lot better educated and smarter than Harry so her parents must have done something right.
I’m surprised people are so surprised…….i mean, this IS Harry we’re talking about.
I have a huge soft spot for him, but i’m under no illusions…..this is just the beginning for the Scandal-Master. I’m hoping all other ensuing scandals will be of this sort……merely verb indiscretions and not any of the other *types*.
Her family seems turbulent (on her dad’s side). I think what he meant was that she had never had a Christmas of that size before. Or perhaps Meghan’s family Christmas’s have been full of fights and drama year after year. Sometimes family get togethers really suck. Not one of you know what either her Christmas pre-Harry or his family Christmas’s are like. Maybe he was just expressing something SHE said to him. My husband’s family is huge. 35 people at EVERY Christmas, including his sisters. I love my family but it’s small and yes, my husband gave ME the Christmas I never had–that big boisterous loud holiday. This has nothing to do with “white savior” nonsense (seriously, she’s HALF WHITE people) and more with Harry just being candid. KP already defended the statement.
Also, has it occurred to any of you slamming Harry that Meghan and Harry planned this all along? Maybe she wanted him to say it just to set off her jackass of a sister. Maybe her father is not supportive of the wedding. Who knows? Meghan is VERY good with PR and I think it’s highly possible that she planned this with Harry. Her father’s side of the family has been appalling to her and so have many of her friends (like the one who sold the teenage photos to the DM) and her sister is a NIGHTMARE. The sister is writing a book called Princess Pushy FFS. Meghan is probably MORE than happy to give her family, with the exception of her mom, the middle finger. And for all you guys know, maybe her mom was there. Not necessarily with the queen but maybe in London or vicinity.
If she was ok with Harry saying that. They’re both being stupid. Regardless of accuracy. It’s a statement that invites those members into the conversation. It’s bad pr. And so far both in this relationship have played it very low key and quietly. To slip up now on purpose? I don’t buy it.
Can of worms and unnecessary to say on a public platform.
If it’s planned, it’s really stupid, and I highly doubt they are that stupid. They conducted pretty much their entire relationship privately. Meghan has managed to keep whatever family issues she has (if any) under wraps up to now, and has only said nice things about her father bringing her to the set of “Married with Children” when she was growing up.
It might make you happy to see this play out in public but it is not going to go down with the royal family well and it probably hurts some of her family members as well.
He needs to settle down and follow Meghan’s lead – start by being discreet about her family. LIke she is and has been.
Its hilarious how strangers are offended on behalf og Meghans family . Spare me , until this engagement most people had no idea who she was now strangers believe that her fiance is making things up about her family , miss me with the s***. We dont know what she went through, this is a non scandal. I can see why she would distance herself from them, they are trash .
I don’t know if it’s a case of being offended on behalf of Meghan’s family, but rather being surprised at Harry’s stupidity in terms of inviting the media to speculate about what her relations with her family is like.
Well, we do know that at least one of them sold her out, is horrible, and is writing an unflattering book. Maybe the media spectulating into the (lack of) relationship is exactly what he wants. Maybe “jealous, greedy non-entity in Megan’s life” is to be preferred over “poor disabled sister who was shunted aside.”
I’ve got a very charming, beautiful, sister. She’s also toxic and narcissistic. We are estranged, and usually I let the lies she tells me go unchallenged, because I don’t want to engage with her. But I’m a private citizen, and she can’t hurt me. If I were higher profile, I would absolutely look to see the record straight. A lie unchallenged becomes the truth.
It’s hilarious how you can label a whole family – none of whom you know, and most of whom you have never heard of – “trash” based on ….. internet gossip.
Even though meghan has lots of half siblings and such, is she not an only child raised by her mother? That’s a small family, period. She didn’t grow up with a lot of siblings and family in her house. Harry quite simply could have meant that given the large size of the royal family when they get together, that was the family she never had.
I must be one of the few who took his comments to mean that its not a normal family she’s marrying into. I mean come on she is going into an almost alien world of rules, regulations and history, they’re not a normal family no matter how much they are portrayed to be so in that respect it is the family she never had or may have asked for. By marrying him she’s going to be giving up a lot of personal freedoms, her career and privacy. Her “family” should keep their comments to themselves and other than hearing directly from her Father or Mother the rest just sound like they are looking for their 15 minutes.