I do wonder how the rest of the British royal family will react, today and in the days and weeks to come, to all of the Markle family’s shenanigans. I think Doria will be popular with the family – she seems dignified, loyal and quiet, traits that are valued with the Windsors. But Meghan’s father is trash, and her half-siblings are garbage dumps. Apparently, the Queen and Prince Philip were and are very angry about Thomas Markle and his shenanigans. I love “the Queen is not amused” stories.
Meghan Markle’s father has made the Queen and Prince Philip “very angry” after news broke over the weekend that he staged paparazzi photos of himself in the run up to the royal wedding, an insider revealed exclusively to Express.co.uk. Meghan Markle, 36, will marry Prince Harry, 33, on May 19 2018, but with a week to go, not everything is going smoothly.
The Queen, 92, Prince Philip, 96, and the Lord Chamberlain’s Office are believed to be “angry” with Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle Sr, 73. This comes after allegations over the weekend Thomas colluded with a photographer to stage photos of himself. The photos have since sold for huge sums of money among the world’s paparazzi.
“Lord Chamberlain, Her Majesty and the Duke are very angry with Meghan’s father,” the source revealed. “They will speak to him once he arrives about the royal protocol.”
A meeting is taking place today between Kensington Palace and the communication office about Meghan’s father. The source added that the royals are “worried” about Thomas’ behaviour. “The reason they are worried is because of those photos.”
Thomas was due to arrive early this week in the UK ahead of the royal wedding, however, TMZ has since reported that he has decided not to attend the wedding.
So, that’s yet another reason why Thomas Markle is trying to skip out – he doesn’t want the Queen to tell him off to his face. Except that the Queen wouldn’t do that. The Queen has other people tell off rogue relatives. It’s my hope that this story is part of a coordinated effort to separate Meghan-the-person from the Markle family’s general shambles. That’s what I believe will happen this week, and in the months and years to come: the royal family will bring Meghan in and protect her and leave the rest of her family (except for her mom) out in the cold.
These are photos of the Queen looking unamused at the Royal Windsor Horse Show last week, btw.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I think what he did was wrong, but can the Queen really tell him off since he’s, er, not a British subject? So many questions…
As a person (not necessarily as Queen) she can tell anyone off that she wants to tell off. I hope she does it.
On that point, you’re quite right.
It’s just that the story is framed as one about royal protocol rather than personal family dignity, and the story refers to her as Her Majesty. Thus, a lecture about the “officiality” of following royal protocol seems to have less weight when you’re talking about a non-British subject. I also think he has to show up for any of this conversation to actually take place.
Nonetheless, he sounds terrified of her even though he’s not British.
Queen Liz isn’t a confrontational person. She won’t say anything outright.
Meghan’s dad doesn’t have to worry about her – but he should worry about getting a royal telling off from Prince Phillip. I don’t think he’d pull any punches, and he probably has a rich tapestry of words he’s been saving up to use on Mr. Markle.
I feel sad for Meghan and Harry though – this is not shaping up to be the Flying Elvi moment many of us hoped for.
She’s also the grandmother of the groom. On a personal level, she can yell at him all she wants.
True.
But I think he has to show up for her to yell at him. Or she has to be willing to fly out to Mexico with her guards to give him a verbal smackdown.
Like, how does she make this even happen if he’s not going to show up?
Ultimately, she can forbid him from any royal properties while she’s alive, and Charles can extend that once he’s king. That means he doesn’t get to visit them at their home in KP, their future country home, at Sandringham for Christmas, or Balmoral in the summer. I expect Doria, like Sophie’s father before her, may end up at many of those.
That might mean nothing, as scorched earth a la Fergie may be their best option. No matter what he says or does from now on, no matter how much he gets paid by TMZ to cry on camera about not meeting his grandkids? They hold the line and cut him off completely.
What if this guy or the half-sister end up on that Youtube channel Oprah is running?
I hate the half-siblings so the idea of the Queen yelling at them does actually amuse me. The father at least seems to have some self-awareness that he’s done something embarrassing. Or he at least seems to have some self-awareness that everyone thinks he’s horrible. I’m not sure the half-siblings have a clue. So I think she should invite them over to Buckingham Palace on the hope that they’re dumb enough to show up and scare the heck out of them with a verbal tongue-lashing too.
LOL, this is turning into something really funny!! I ROTFALMBOed at “Or she has to be willing to fly out to Mexico with her guards to give him a verbal smackdown” so funny.
Exactly, runcmc — exactly!
she should yell at him simply because he’s not a decent person.
Yup. Right you are. As the Grandmother of the Groom, she can tell him off as a private citizen. And, he is a real Rat and Lousy excuse for a Father.
What a complete jerk he is.
So, now I understand why Harry once referred to “the family she never had”
Boy oh boy, her Father and the half-sister who keeps bad mouthing her in the press are just awful.
Best wishes to Her.
Except anything she says will end up in The Sun.
It is easy to see why Doria divorced him. The actual divorce didn’t go through for a few years (I think) but it sounds like Doria got rid of him when Meghan was a toddler. Good move.
You don’t yell at another adult who is not your husband. No one has to sit for that. And then T. Markle would have a really great story to sell to the papers.
If Meghan is so close to her dad as the Palace put out recently, she would have known that her father wouldn’t have handled all of this well and prepared for it. No, she isn’t responsible for his behavior, but she could have cut it off at the pass. This kind of thing is why I think she really is all about Meghan.
I wouldn’t think she can’t say squat. And TQ is *famous* for not confronting issues in the family. Phillip is the vocal one. However, I do believe, as Kaiser said, they will enfold Meghan, and literally freeze out the rest as if they don’t exist. “Never explain, never complain”.
Oh I think she would have NO problem telling him that he behaved horribly to his face.
Just because he is not a subject doesnt mean anything..he will be a part of her family so yes, I am sure her secretary and others will tell him how to behave but I have no doubt ..NO DOUBT that she will say a few words to him in her Queenly way that he behaved liked like an ass and to not do it again when she sees him.
She has had to speak to men ( and women) much more powerful than old Markle and give them all a good talking to so she knows what she is doing.
If he doesn’t show up, how can she yell at him though? That’s another part of the story that is slightly baffling to me. He has to be physically present for any of this to happen.
The most she can do at this point is send him an email. Even then, he could just leave it unread.
Or you know, pick up the phone and call him. Granted he could refuse to answer. Or have Meghan call him, he answers, then hand the phone to Prince Philip and cover your ears.
Bwahahahahaha 😂😂😂😂😂, it’s my day off so I’m just gonna sit here and read y’all posts and laugh myself silly.😁😁😁
I don’t doubt HM is capable of tearing a strip off him, though she leaves the family matters to Philip. From stories through the years, including the shoe throwing fight early on, she gives as good as she gets in any argument with Philip. And she’s admitted to learning plenty of swear words from her naval family men.
I want to see her send someone to his place with an iPhone and have her facetime him, tbh. I think it’d be hilarious and it’s a visual I’m not going to let go of.
Me, I’d send Princess Anne and Mike Tindall over to teach the Markles some manners or scare them into the hills.
I would pay any form of currency to watch Anne rinse the hair dye off Samantha’s head with a fire hose, btw.
You know, sending Princess Anne to give him a tongue-lashing could work. She should sneer and hiss at all of the relatives! If that doesn’t set them straight, I don’t know what could.
Nota I laughed out loud at that one. Another episode of the Windsors where Phillip let’s loose in absentia.
But anyway, poor MM. maybe Harry should walk her down the aisle
She most certainly can tell him off, though she won’t. Her people would do that. I’m sure she’ll politely smile and give him Her Majesty’s equivalent of a “bless your heart” when/if she ever meets him.
I’m glad to see Palace communications getting involved. Poor Jason is in way over his head.
Yes, she can tell him off….if he shows up in England, which it doesn’t appear he will.
I have my doubts she will ever meet him if he refuses to cross the UK border. If he were actually in England, I would better understand this story. But since he’s not living in a small English village somewhere I don’t see how the Queen can get access to him unless she’s the one willing to fly and show up at his doorstep in Mexico. And even then, he would be within his rights to refuse to answer the doorbell. I doubt the Mexican president is going to choose to intervene in this matter.
Just to be clear: I do definitely think what he did was wrong. But even the Queen doesn’t have access to all of the world’s citizens.
The Queen sends Phillip to tell off family which Thomas will be on Saturday.
Personal or official or royal, no matter what he has done, no one gets to tell my dad off other than me . If anyone dares, deal is off, queen or emperor.
If a grown up woman let’s someone else to tell her father off….
I mean I would immediately take it as not enough respect for me and my family. You need to take me and remodel me to fit your mould!
And why would her family even need royal protection? They were doing fine before Harry was part of Meghan’s life.
LOL, wasn’t Sarah Ferguson’s family a bit of a mess as well? As long as Meghan isn’t going around making people suck on her toes, she’ll be fine.
I myself would be fuming. Just remember that these royals plan eveeything too the second and they did so months ahead of Harry and Meghan walking down and announcing that they were engaged!! Only to get the RSVP No days before the kick off.
Oh well, when someone shows you who they are, rather now than later!
This story, I’m not buying.
Yes, her mother ran off with a Polo player, and her dad got caught in a massage parlor getting a “happy ending” massage lol
To be fair, Mrs Barrantes ran off with the polo player when Fergie was 13yrs old.
Yuck, I remember reading that fergie admitted to sneaking out of her house and into the gardens to bonk her lover in a bush when she was preggers with beatrice, She cheated all through their marriage. Dunno why they thought it would be a good idea to have andy away 8 months of the year at sea after they tied the knot. Whilst the cats away the mice will play.
Big E looking vicious in the top pic. Poor Meghan!
Did anyone else catch on TMZ that Meghan’s mother is still in LA as of yesterday? Pictures of her out and about yesterday are around. I wonder if she’s staying back and trying to mediate the situation. But she should just head to London and help her daughter relax.
Yes, I did….most surprising. There is nothing that she can to to mediate…Markle did not even hand her the pot of flowers he brought, he just left them on the doorstep.
this. why is doria still in the u.s. her daughter is marrying a prince of england and she’s still not in england. i would want to be there for at least 2 weeks before the event so i wasn’t jet lagged at least. i just don’t understand meghan’s relationship with her parents. i know everyone says doria is the good parent but i think her behavior is odd as well.
Or she’s doing exactly what they want her to do. Staying in California because at least there, the coverage of her is less. Better than having your mother hounded by paps in London for two weeks, no?
@Whatabout, it was said by KP that BOTH parents would arrive week of the wedding, so this isn’t surprising to me. She could be have boarded a flight last night or sometime today, its just Tuesday. And maybe papa Markle too will have a change of heart and just go be there for his daughter, its not too late, again its just Tuesday.
Doria isn’t going to be hounded by the paps. She wasn’t the last time she was here! I do find it really odd that her mother is going to be flying in only a few days/one day before the wedding?? I’m not so sure Meghan is really close to her parents. She skipped her last Christmas with her mum to be with the Royal family.
And yet, other reports had her in KP last Saturday, spending Mothers’ Day with Meg. Were there pics of her accepting the flowers?
I wonder if Meghan is closest to her mother but they aren’t that close. Like her mother didn’t fly to London to help her plan the wedding or anything. Which is odd.
Yes there were pictures of her yesterday leaving her house and going to yoga. It’s still up on TMZ but you have to scroll down.
Doesn’t mean the pictures are new.
You don’t need to be in the same town to help plan a wedding. So much can be done by email and Skype etc. Plus, I’m sure most of it is in the hands of royal courtiers who have planned royal weddings before. As lovely a person as she seems to be, I don’t think Doria has the knowledge of royal protocol to help out with that.
Yep, there were some blurry pap pix of her glaring at the flowers.
Here is the link everyone.
http://m.tmz.com/#!article/2018/05/14/meghan-markle-mother-doria-father-thomas-wedding-harry/
When I flew from LA to London on BA, I did a business class, relaxed a bit (mimosa before take off anyone? 😊), then a bit later, popped an Ambien and slept. When I got there, I checked into my hotel and was ready to go. It really isn’t rocket science, just good planning on flight times and time change. (Also being well hydrated prior to traveling helps with jet lag, too!)
@Whatabout it’s not odd, Meghan is not a young inexperienced bride with no resources to plan her wedding. She has access to top wedding planners. Plus Doria has a life of her own, she has a career and responsibilities in LA. Meghan may want to plan the wedding with Harry rather than her mom.
You expect a bride to plan with her mom but that’s not everyone’s experience
Saw that. Something seems fishy. The flight to London from LA takes a whole day, not even factoring in jet lag. Why isn’t her mother over there already? It’s all so bizarre. I remember when William and Kate got married they had their practice ceremony on the Monday of that week. Why isn’t Meghan’s mom over participating in that kind of stuff?
The flight from LA to London is around 10 hours – I had a early evening flight and the jetlag was horrendous (although it was a stop over from Hawaii and I hadn’t slept much in 2 days anyway). If she gets a morning flight, she could be in London early evening UK time – there is a 7 hour time difference. What i mean is she can do it with min jetlag.
She could be tied up due to work commitments plus a few airlines out LAX do have non-stop 10 hr flights to Heathrow. Although I would figure they may have her fly private especially after all of this mess going on.
@roses right, could someone plump for Doria to fly private? Some of Meg’s swish friends, her Soho house crowd, the Misha Noonoos, Serena Williams?
NO way, what are you talking about @someone? A direct non-stop flight from LA (Vancouver on Canada side) to London Heathrow is just 8 HRS.
.
Check the airline schedule – if you leave LAX at 3:30pm LA time you arrive in London at 10:30am the next day London time. It’s a 10 1/2 hour flight non stop. I was also factoring in getting to LAX, checking in, going through security, being 2 hours early, etc etc plus time change. Then factor in going through Customs security on the other end. If you were going on vacation to London would you count the day you travel as a good day to, say, go see a play in London? No. You would build in travel days. Her daughter’s royal wedding is Saturday. Why wouldn’t you go over early? At least a week? Not flying in on Tuesday for a Saturday wedding.
@someone, factoring all that into flight time is very misleading. The only time that should be factored into a trip (say from YYZ to EBB is stop-over or transit time. But again, that too is just factored into how long the trip is, not necessarily the flight time from one airport to the next. Also flight times vary depending on aircraft size, one airline might take 10hrs while another takes more or less. Regardless, a flight from LA to Heathrow doesn’t take the whole day as you said in your first post.
In regards to when mom of bride needs to be in London, we have to remember, this is not Doria’s wedding, its her daughter’s so, its not what Doria wants to do as opposed to what her daughter wants her to do at what time. Maybe her being in London a week in advance is not as ideal for them!!
She’d be flying in the posh BA transatlantic First, complete with airline-provided jammies. Stretch out on the fully reclining seat/bed, sleep for 8-10 hours, awaken refreshed and in-sync with local time.
For god sake people, Doria has A JOB. She probably had to plan her vacation time accordingly or something (most jobs in the US only give you 2 weeks off a year). The woman gets up and goes to work every day. She can’t just drop everything and fly 5000 miles to see her daughter, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to be allowed 3 weeks (or more) off to help plan a wedding.
And before anyone says it, I’m done believing any tabloid reports about Doria, which includes the most recent one about her supposedly quitting her job. That “news” is probably just like the Oprah interview news, which turned out not to be true, and denied by Oprah’s reps themselves.
Since most West Coast flights headed to Europe go the polar route, Vancouver is actually closer to London than LA is, hence the shorter flight time. In my book, a ten-hour flight is indeed an all-day affair, especially considering the 8-hour time difference. You lose an entire day flying from the US to Europe.
Good lord, it does not take a whole day
I fly L.A to Heathrow all the time. non stop its a 8-10 hour flight depending on if you go over canada or over the US.
If I leave in the morning, I get there in the evening, I go to bed. Get up in the morning like normal and since it is going forward there is hardly any jet lag.
Jet lag doesn’t kill you til you go back home.
@Someone, it takes about 10 1/2 hrs., give or take tail winds/head winds. It really is doable if planned right.
posted on wrong spot
@morgano1 Doria quit her job recently. She’s starting her own practice soon.
YYZ is Toronto, though.
I don’t think that is true. Other reports say she arrived in the U.K. already.
I don’t think it’s a big deal if she’s still in LA. This is probably why M&H are delaying their honeymoon, to spend time with everyone afterwards. If Doria and Meghan’s dad were supposed to arrive at the same time it makes sense to keep the dad’s time at a minimum, he seems to get into trouble if he has too much time on his hands. 😉
I got married on the opposite US coast from my parents, and I think they arrived 2 days before my wedding. Maybe 3. I love my parents, our relationship is fine, but as a grown woman planning and paying for my own wedding the LAST thing I needed was to have to entertain them during the weeks leading up to the ceremony. (Shuddering just thinking about it!) Maybe Meghan doesn’t want or need her mom involved in every stress-ridden detail. Doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.
Going outside is a damnable offense for them, not that I can blame them. Tina Brown’s Diana Chronicles shares the day that Diana’s private interviews were splashed across the newspapers – Charles was not happy. It just sounded like a chilling morning. Diana fled.
It’s just so tacky and thirty. Of course it’s tacky and thirsty when William has the Middleton’s leaky leak, but it’s less obvious because they go through more or less unofficial official channels.
The saying “a day late and a dollar short” comes to mind. A discussion would have been a good idea months ago.
The horse has already left the barn, and is calling up the tabloids with sympathy stories.
Yes, I have to agree with this. This should have been wrapped up and settled weeks ago. Quite frankly, I don’t even believe this story. At this point I think she was informed of the developments, but she is 92, what is the point of getting angry?!
If Meghan realizes her father lacks judgment and follow-through, then could this really be a surprise? People usually don’t change. Getting angry is a waste of time and energy now.
Is this going to be a “royal saves the day” ending, with Charles accompanying the mother and bride?
The Queen is very hands off when it comes to personal family matters so I don’t believe this story at all. She’s not shouting at anyone!!
“she is 92, what is the point of getting angry”
Please tell that to my 92 year old grandmother hahaha xD
AMEN. These staged photos were coming out even in March. What about the Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Clarence House crack press relations teams? If they are worth their salt they should have picked up on the nature of the pictures and had some kind of strategy to deal with Thomas Markle.
Well maybe he has some common sense and is staying home, not like the rest of the Markle family ,seen yesterday arriving at Heathrow airport. Even though they are not invited some news outlet are paying them to be commentators. What is up with that?
This is “family” that hasn’t had ANY contact in TWENTY YEARS! What could they possibly have to say, but fabricated crap, or stories they themselves read online about her?
Take that up with Piers Morgan…. It’s his morning show lol! Well, he is the co-host.
So sorry for Meghan. I had a father who didn’t show at my sister’s and then two years later my brother’s wedding, for various reasons, and it’s upsetting, even if you don’t like the man.
The thing I don’t understand is she’s 36, she’s been through a wedding with her messy family before. Why didn’t she plan for/anticipate this? There’s something really off about this and honestly her. She acts like a doe-eyed 20 year old who’s never been in love before and poor her, how was she supposed to know that sometimes people are mean. She’s actually 36, divorced, worked in an embassy, then got near the top of a very competitive industry. Her people skills and crisis management should be way, way better based on her background.
The whole thing is just really, really weird.
I just read that the royals are shoving this “fairy tale Wedding” of a 36 year
old Divorced woman to the 6th in line down
the Public’s throat to get good PR. With the security costs so high, and the taxpayers
footing that bill, it seems like many British are more annoyed than charmed.
Considering that the original plan was for her mother to walk her down the aisle – she did plan for this. Her mom was always her backup.
More likely her dad just couldn’t deal with it all. He more typically stays away from the spotlight, although the lure of big $ for a few pictures was too tempting. He didn’t murder anybody.
It’s so disingenuous to have this conversation and leave race out of it. Everything about what is happening is related to race.
I think you better offer up more on this ? How is the father issue a race one?
Isn’t MMs father white? Aren’t all the tacky Markle family shenanigans from his side? And the RF has been dealing with tacky family shenanigans, selling out to Media, etc for years.
Yeah, the white members of MM’s family are causing all the problems!
I didn’t see how this was about race either, but maybe we missed something
In any other situation the other side of the family would be leaned on and built up to be solid, descent people. That isn’t happening here. Let’s not pretend that the Royal family is suddenly woke.
@Lak Despite minor royals marrying a few people of colour. This is a major royal. I’ve lived in the UK and classism and racism is very real. The Royal family doesn’t escape that. Even as a country with the highest proportion of mixed race people in the world, racism still permeates. I remember watching a documentary where white grandparents had no qualms about sitting in their front room and making derogatory comments about black peoples with their mixed race grandkids sitting right there. Philip is a notorious racist, Harry has even had his issues. Charles, well we know his comments. The Queen still thinks she has dominion over the ‘colonies’. Let’s not pretend this is Woke world she’s marryjng into or that it will be easy for her or especially her loc wearing mother- who is consistently referred to as scruffy, dishevelled) dog whistle words for black women with traditional hair styles everywhere. (especially in the US where the courts have upheld discriminatory laws preventing Blck people from gaining employment if they have locs).
NewKay: I’ve lived in the UK for a long time too.
I don’t pretend that racism and classism don’t exist, but to claim that MM will be run out of the family based on her race is simply untrue when the few non-white members haven’t been run out and are welcomed at every turn by entire family senior royal or not, publicly and privately. Queen included.
Variations of your same arguments were used to discredit this relationship based on the public’s own assumed prejudices despite the family crossing those barriers a long time ago. I guess because there was no official announcement, the change didn’t happen in the public’s mind.
And when the assumed prejudices failed to materialise, the goalposts moved to the hairsplitting differences between status of the various royals as the reason.
The Queen could stand besides Gary Lewis somewhere very visible and people would not see him.
Oh wait, she does every year at the family events like Trooping the colour and services at Westminster. He is right there at the cousins Gloucestershire polo every summer. His kids playing with their white cousins.
Those same kids attend the annual Christmas lunch with rest of the royal family, but according to you they don’t count and aren’t part of the family.
And btw, the Queen had to consent to their marriages, so she’s fully aware that she has some non-white family members in her family yet is making no attempt to render them invisible since google keeps throwing up images of said family members enjoying time with various royals.
Racism is part of Samantha’s attitude towards her half-sister and former step-mother (referring to her as The Help), but sheer jealousy and fame whoring is in there by the ton. All of this isn’t related to race. It is because her father’s side of the family, from whom she has been estranged for 15+ years, are lousy human beings. She wasn’t raised with her half-siblings, has never had much of a relationship with them, and it is easy to see why.
Well put nota. The half siblings are just horrid people. If Meghan was marrying some random does anyone seriously think they’d GAF? The pix of the hangers on relatives arriving at Heathrow was appalling, apparently they’ll be commentators? Latest I just heard on CNN is that Dad Markle is in hospital having tests done to see if he is healthy enough to travel…..FFS
@NewKay: Hello, Russian troll!
@venus so becuase I’m not skirting over the issue of race im a troll? Kaiser wrote about that Meagan’s mom would be popular in the royal family— my original point was that that is a naive and laughable idea, given the Royal families track record and history. No one who is unapologetically Black will be accepted. Even Meagan herself is white passing.
NewKay: Joy Lascelles is black Nigerian. Going by her photos, unapologetically and unmistakably black. The Queen had to give consent for her marriage. It’s nearly ten years.
Forgot to add, since your comment takes in royal families plural, how about Princess Angela of Liechtenstein or Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg.
Not everything is about race.
It often is, but in this case it’s actually not—it’s all about her nationality. The brits are butthurt beyond belief that a crass, benighted YANK is marrying into their royal family—they’re not at all bothered by her race or her divorcee status.
I agree. Pippa gets papped doesn’t she? Why isn’t that a big deal?
I am trying to understand your point but it’s hard in this circumstance. I think LAK explained well why it doesn’t hold much water specifically with the quee .
More broadly. All families have “those” members, But all family members aren’t “those”…….and let’s face it —everyone behaves and takes their cue from Mama 😎. MM will be fine.
Honestly I’ll be glad when this wedding is over…..I’m anxious to see it but all this dissecting, family drama, and our own experiences and prejudices and beliefs is just exhausting,
You know…..I expect there will be a point in time she won’t be front and center …….how much do we hear anymore about Anne, Edward — or their spouses —or even Andrew for that matter ?
And worrying about how MMs mama will be embraced, well who the heck hears about the in laws of those pretty far down the succession chain? She’ll be treated politely and warmly enough at events where it’s appropriate she attends, but no she isn’t going to get a royal title …..and it isnt because she’s black.
I keep trying to make the point that Doria will
NOT in fact be popular within the royal family and it’s naive to think so.
Gary Lewis and Joy Lascelles disprove your theory. Ditto the mixed race grandchildren already born.
And she’s already popular with Harry. And he is, in fact, a part of the family.
Have you traveled outside of London? Big difference. Blooming hell.
Good point, Eloise.
@NewKay – I wouldn’t presume to know what they really think or feel, but my guess, and I’m honest enough to say it’s just a guess, is that it isn’t naive to think they could like her personally, it’s the baggage that they are wary of and the taint of too much “celebrity”. As I keep saying, I think this family and other royal families know that when the line between celebrity and royalty gets too thin, they risk irrelevancy. Why pay anything toward the monarchy when you have the Kardashians, if there isn’t any difference? And what does “popular” mean? These are people who, if bios are to be believed, aren’t great at intimate friendships in the first place. I don’t see why they wouldn’t like her any more than any of the other women who married in if she shows she’s got a handle on the job and is doing it and Harry is happy. It’s the surrounding mess that they don’t like. And I hate to say this, but Ma Middleton must be grinning from ear to ear as her carefully bland English daughter cradles the adorable new royal baby, while this mess surrounds Meghan. I just think it sucks for Meghan all around. It’s really important that the wedding itself goes well and reverses all this.
NO one in the RF can be happy about this circus. At all. Siblings, father, best friends, old PR people, all telling the same basic story about Meghan, that she sucks up what you have to offer and then dumps you. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but if Harry was my family member, I would be worried.
Then there is this wedding nonsense with her father and the paps, he is coming, he isn’t coming, will he walk her down the aisle? Some of the royals who are kinder may be sympathetic: I bet Sophie, Beatrice, Eugenie feel sorry for Meghan over all of this; some who aren’t as kind may be annoyed at it all, such as Philip, the Queen, Wills and Anne – can you imagine what Anne is saying about this circus? And some of the jerks are enjoying it.
And Carole M is laughing her head off.
I can ONLY imagine the side eye the Queen would give. The shade. Go QEII
Which is now making me think about the inherent side eye Charlotte will be able to give.
Poor Meghan, this sucks all around. I know how hard it is to have a parent you love even as they keep disappointing you, and hoping that on your big day they won’t hurt you again, even as you know they probably will. And to worry about how your family is annoying your prospective in- laws is tough enough when they’re not Royal. Ugh. And her half siblings are just truly awful people.
Eh, they are probably annoyed but hardly enraged. Alternative arrangements are probably being enacted because that’s how the Brits roll.
This Queen survived being angrily told off by Diana’s brother during Diana’s funeral. She survived her Nazi uncle waltzing away from the crown. She survived the war. She survived her kids Very public breakdowns of their crummy marriages. Not to mention all the many and untold scandals that have been suppressed throughout the years.
Markle Sr. is not among the biggest problems she has encountered.
Agree. It will blow over. I just feel for Meghan.
On a personal level it sucks horribly.
He’s proven he cannot be trusted with photos of the grandkids. That’s one example. They give him private photos, he sells them. Or he doesn’t. But they’ll never know until they trust him again and he betrays them. And if he runs to TMZ crying about it, he never goes away.
Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Their biggest problem, no. But ultimately even Fergie’s father and Earl Spencer were muzzled somewhat, or cut off and got the message. Earl Spencer kept making money off Diana but he hasn’t been on the front pages for the last 20 years.
I can see Philip being enraged, as he was with Fergie’s first big scandal. If he sees this as a negative reflection on the Queen, he’ll take it personally.
They’ll deal with it is what I am saying.
They should have gotten ahead of it, but they didn’t. Now it’s all clean up. But they’ll do it as they have done numerous times in the past, over much worse situations.
For Meghan on a personal level it stinks. No two ways about it.
I don’t know if they could have gotten ahead of it. If his behavior has been erratic for years, they still wouldn’t have known this was coming. The jealous half-sister doing something horrible again, yes. Her using their vulnerable father in her bizarre anti-Meghan scheme? That surprised me, but given her behavior thus far, maybe it shouldn’t have.
If it turns out there are medical or psychological reasons for his vulnerability? Makes me wish the UK had a media code like Denmark, where it was illegal for anyone to interview (ie take advantage of) Prince Henrik after his dementia diagnosis.
Agree 100% Suze. Also agree this issue–while undoubtedly terribly upsetting for M&H– isn’t a huge deal so far as the BRF goes. And HM is famous for avoiding conflict within the family. It looks like Philip pretty much had to retire for anyone to try seriously to set a fire under William to “step up.” And his activities (or lack thereof) for many years were much more of a reflection on the BRF and its future than anything Meghan’s father does.
Being called into the Lord Chamberlain’s office before she’s wed…..
Ouch.
I would put out a contract hit on my family if they caused that.
what does it mean?
The office exists to ensure the smooth running of the monarchy. And to save it even from the incumbents. We tend to hear about the nicer events it organises eg garden parties or State dinners eg but the other side is ruthless and efficient in keeping everyone in line.
When you fall out of line, it is vicious under the veneer of civility. Emotive appeals fall on deaf ears. Charm doesn’t work. Results are expected. No excuses.
Hi LAK how did they deal with Diana? She went off so many times I shudder what their interactions were like.
Did they call Meghan in? She isn’t the one who did anything, except maybe drop the ball on curbing her father’s behavior.
He acted like an a&&hole and now he’s just going to skip out and not give his daughter away? Says everything right there.
He now says he’s having tests done in hospital to see if he is healthy enough to travel after the heart attack he had recently. I think he’s covering his arse and has no intention of going but will have “medical” excuse for not attending.
I can see her half siblings not giving a crap about what the Queen has to say about their activities, however her dad…I’d hope he’d have enough conscience to straighten up. I feel bad for Megan. Even if she’s who they say she is, jeez…low class.
They who? The racist haters on tumblr who keep spinning lie after lie about her, her profession, her background, how she and Harry met, etc.?
I think Samantha talks to them actually (the haters from Tumblr), she’s really evil.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s one of them, rather than just talking to them.
Lots and lots of people have doubts about Meghan’s relationships with people who she has left behind without being on tumblr or being racist. It is tiring saying this over and over.
And really….please…not a sugar? Come on!
Yes, Samantha is one of them. I know for sure.
I find this very funny since the Windsors are really not the best family to judge other families dynamics, but yes, I imagine she’s mad, okay.
I would be so happy if I was the mil of Harry and would meet the Inlaws of my daughter, I could visit them, maybe take lessons from their gardeners. Talk to Charles about the plastic pollution of the oceans, share one of their jokes, since he and Camilla do laugh a lot. Sit at Christmas in front of a very ancient open fire place, listen to the wood crackle in the fire, have a nice piece of Stilton, sip my exquisite Portwine and later on fall slightly tipsy in my soft warm bed and snooze off. Or be a guest at one of the garden parties, since I coincidentally visit my sil and my daughter at the time, have a little bite her and a sip there, talk to various strangers, nod, say aha, I see, interesting. What a life! People do not honor what is offered to them, they rather go for the short fame and the quick dime.
I find this all a bit rich if it is even true.
Yeah Mr. Markle did a tacky thing but lookup Peter Phillips the Queen’s eldest grandchild and how he secretly had a Hello! mag photographer taking pictures at his private wedding reception of all the royals, which Peter made bank on. And Peter lived to graft off his “Queen’s Grandson” connections another day.
Exactly
Agree agree agree! They are NO ONE to throw any stones. Humph! (Though I do think what he did was gross)
Speak of the devil, his 10 year wedding anniversary is on Thursday the 17th. I know this because I got married the exact same day.
I hope they are not blaming Meghan.
Who comes up with these stories as if they have first hand knowledge of what is going on. LOL
@AG-UK – Exactly!!!!! The media is milking this for all it’s worth and they appear to have thrown all standards out the window to get clicks!
This sort of thing usually gets ramped up before RF weddings. Sophie had her topless photos leaked right before her wedding. The Queen was said to be furious, but they cleaned it up. The Brit press likes to sit on these stories for a while. Meghan is in for a bumpy ride.
A comment back from 1999! “Leave Sophie alone. Stop trying to dig dirt up because you won’t find any. Edward and Sophie are getting married, they are a happy young couple in love. They haven’t done any harm to anybody and there are no skeletons in the cupboard. Stop trying to destroy them before they have started their life together – haven’t you learnt anything from the death of Princess Diana?”
Nearly 20 years on and they’re still doing the same crap.
Eh, it’s not like her family is any better. The Windsor clan just doesn’t get called out for their trash the way the Markels are and the press is more interested in protecting them.
I’d bet he’s more afraid of Doria ripping him a new one than anyone or thing else.
He seems spineless.
Yeah, I bet she has plans for that bucket of flowers he brought her!! lol
The Royals have had worse scandals.
ITA, but this pap staging sh*t was so unnecessary. I still don’t understand why he and her mother were not already in England (as of this weekend, at least). Surely, he needed to be fitted for appropriate attire and meet her new in-laws, and why wouldn’t her mother want to see how the final stages of the wedding prep came together. I mean, how often does your child get to have a fairy tale wedding?
I feel for Meghan, it must be super hard for her to have this kind of heartache in the middle of what is should be the best day of her life!
Off topic and shallow but re: the last picture my mind is imagining all types of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane scenarios with Philip as the Joan Crawford character and QEII as Bette Davis’s Baby Jane. Look at Philip’s eyes and how he is looking at Queen Elizabeth. If you have watched the movie just let a few scenes roll through mind. I’m envisioning the beach scene. Lol.
I swear it seems like QEII is enjoying life, living a bit more spontaneously and just overall exercising more personal freedom now that Philip has retired and has been essentially sidelined due to health. A second youth at 92nd. Big smile.
“Believed to be” means absolutely nothing and I’m tired of stories attributed to serious “sources” who if they really were serious sources wouldn’t give the time of day to the media, let alone tell them how the Queen is feeling – that includes stories about how Harry feels, Meghan begging her father to change her mind (my personal opinion: she’s relieved to have him out of it, and I base this on how late they made the announcement of him walking her down the aisle; if it had been an original assumption it would have been announced much earlier – there was clearly ambivalence from the get-go, and obviously, they were right!).
OK, it’s a safe bet that the Queen and Philip and Charles and Harry are appalled at the Kardashianization of the proceedings, but no one has first-hand info on this.
I wouldn’t believe a thing the media says about all this now – if they know anything, it’s whatever H&M have allowed to be leaked that they think helps damage control.
She looks like a Mafia boss in the lead photo.
Well, she’s watching her horses sweep the winnings, so she’s probably (and rightly) feeling herself!
Poor Meghan, her father is a piece of work, how could any parent do such an awful thing and her half siblings are a nightmare, a true nightmare.
I’m a bit disappointed in Meghan’s mom, she seems like a really nice person, so I don’t understand why she didn’t take a one week vacation (maybe should have made arrangements when they announced the engagement) to be with her daughter in Britain.
It’s not like this is a last minute kind of wedding, her mom should have made the preparations to be with Meghan a while ago.
I know that Meghan has a lot of help to ensure that everything goes well on her wedding day, but her mom in my opinion should have been there with her for emotional support a few days before the wedding.
After all, her daughter is marrying Prince Harry in Britain, this does not happen every year.
This is a pretty big deal, Meghan’s life is changing completely, her mom should be with her instead of LA heading to a yoga class.
Very odd.
Someone, somewhere posited that she was perhaps ha going back stateside to try and convince M’s dad to do the right thing. But obviously just a theory..
*hanging
This guy’s 73, in poor health and broke. What did they think was going to happen?
@Shebug
I don’t know, maybe quietly ask your daughter for some financial help.
For him selling his daughter out, should have been absolutely the last possible resort, even if he was homeless.
Ask for help at least before doing this in front of the whole world a few days before her wedding.
Little common sense, just a tiny bit!
She made it a point to be estranged from them all. She wanted them back for a photo op and it blew up in her face. I can’t get over the Dad being that old and sick and living this sad life in Mexico, one of the most dangerous countries in the world right now. She has a fortune of millions, she can’t help him pay for assisted living in the States? He helped her get internships, he helped her get started in entertainment and she can’t repay that nice start in life now that he’s 70+?
There’s something really off about Markle, the way she handles her family, the fact she doesn’t even have a good female friend as an attendant, the fact she didn’t even thank her fans before shutting down her blog. Splitting up the dogs before moving. Harry should probably run now. He won’t, he clearly thinks he can rescue her, but the divorce will be even worse than this.
This must be a joke, Mexico,”one of the most dangerous countries in the world”?
I live in the United States : mass shootings in schools, malls, churches, movie theaters, not to mention heavy drug use across USA, violent gangs, racial problems, rise of hate crimes against women, immigrants, DACA kids, transgender people, the LGBTQ community and on and on.
I think we have enough problems in the USA to call out any country for how dangerous they are.
Maybe we should clean up up our mess first, no?
Compared to just a few countries at the top of my head : Denmark, Canada, Scotland, Finland, we are much, much worse in the US.
Let’s not kid ourselves.
Meghan is not estranged from her whole family, but it seems to me that she has a pretty good reasons to be estranged from some of them : half siblings are just behaving horribly and her own father selling her out.
She has some good male and female friends that have been invited to her wedding.
Maybe they don’t get along?
I think she is estranged from her siblings because they were adults basically when she was born. She never lived with them and then her mother divorced their father so then they probably had even less interaction once Mr Markle moved out of Megan and Doria’s house. Heck, I have a half sister out there I have NEVER even met. Half siblings are not always close and can be virtually strangers if they weren’t raised together like siblings.
I think she comes from a broken home and a broken and unblended family and it seems to be her father left quite a trail of broken homes in his wake.
Shebug- her father looked quite serene and unafraid as he sat in an open-air cafe in Mexico. Really, he is where he feels comfortable and safe. The whole wedding deal was way out of his comfort zone.
@Jane they had almost 30k murders in 2017 and kidnappings were also at an all-time high. Even the nice areas that were considered safe in previous years are starting to see dozens of murders. If I was marrying into a wealthy family, I would be worried than any family members in Mexico could become targets for a kidnapping.
@ SheBug
Do you know the amount of violent murders that we have in the USA every year?
And without going to dangerous areas, just going to school can be dangerous, doing ordinary things like going to a movie can be deadly here.
I don’t think Americans need to worry about living in Mexico.
Maybe, if the kidnapping is such an issue, Mr. Markle should refrain from arranging pics with papparazzi?
The Queen is notoriously confrontation averse……this was most evident when Diana died. She will ignore issues like this as long as she can; there is no way she was “angry or shouting”. Probably mildly irritated that something as basic as a man walking his daughter down the aisle was even an issue that she had to be bothered about. I am sure that her day does not revolve around this wedding.
QE2 has seen it all! lol!
Who needs enemies when you have the Markles? I guess they are hell bent on ruining her wedding and life. I would cut them out of my life completely, freeze them out.
Ths entire thing is very odd honestly. If they were in a relationship for two years and Harry never even met her father. I am guesssing because of some kind of strained relationship, then why is this all of the sudden so important. She has been married before. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Many people get divorced and remarried. This entire situation just seems very off somehow. The man probably needed the money and maybe he is having panic attacks from all the scrutiny he has been under.
“The man probably needed the money and maybe he is having panic attacks from all the scrutiny he has been under.”
This is what gets me. He’s elderly, obviously unhealthy, has money problems and his daughter hasn’t had a relationship with him for years. Like he was supposed to be over the moon to get on a plane, travel for 12 hours, be around a bunch of snobs he’s never met before and have to reconnect with his daughter in the most awkward way, at the biggest occasion possible.
It’s all so selfish. It’s not her first wedding and she’s not a kid. By your mid-30s you should be able to take other people’s needs and feelings into account. Even if they’re not perfect. Or just go very small and don’t have this big thing with a bunch of celebrities and media there.
@SheBug
MM had some type of relationship with her father, hello year 2016, a nice Father’s Day message from Meghan to her dad.
It seems that it’s not the best relationship between father and daughter, but let’s just be honest here, NONE of us know the details of what went down between them over the years.
We have no clue why it has been strained!
A 73 year old man who is broke and went bankrupt with two divorces behind him and some pretty awful children from his first marriage, I think Mr. Markle is “something else”.
He had to work for many years, were is the money, no savings, no retirement fund, no investments???
He should be grateful that the BRF tried to make his stay as good as possible.
I’ve seen the pic of the place that they chose for him to stay at, the security detail assigned to him, the bunch of ” SNOBS ” as you are calling them at least tried to make his stay pleasant even though they have never met him for a minute.
I don’t know what more important things does a 73 year old man without a job, retired in Mexico has on his plate that it would be such bother to take a flight to London and spend time with his daughter during once in a lifetime type of event.
Who knows how much time he has left, he is not young anymore!
SheBug is correct. All this empathy for Meghan is kind of over the top. The woman is getting married for the second time and honestly, they could have had a very low key wedding. I would love to know what her first husband thinks about this circus.
I’m sorry but that’s just ridiculous. So what if it’s her second marriage? Last I checked, its TWO people getting married. And it’s Harry’s first, and he is a fricking PRINCE, and a global superstar of sorts. Why should he have a tiny, low-key affair just because his bride to be isn’t a blushing ingenue? It’s beyond ridiculous to put this spectacle of a wedding (that, let’s be honest, were ALL going to watch) on her.
Meghan was on the cover of Vanity Fair talking about her relationship with Harry. Why was that not an issue?
They probably approved it. It’s like when Kate did Vogue: if it’s a friendly publication that will write a friendly article, all is fine.
Maybe I’m misremembering, but Kate didn’t give an interview for that Vogue piece, did she? I don’t recall her talking about her great love with William, etc. It was just pics, no?
Say what you like about the Middletons and how they raised the laziest kids in the universe, but Ma Middleton and her kids never went blabbing to the press about William and the royals, even when K & W broke up. That is why she is allowed to certain functions.
I am not understanding why MM talking about HER relationship(s) with anyone should be an issue. I gather if there was something controversial or indiscreet that she may have said to VF, you would be telling us about it or at least providing a link, right?
Because it was likely approved by the palace and Meghan was probably coached on what and what not to say. Using the press has never been an issue for these people. The issue comes when you have a loose cannon that cannot be reasoned with or controlled. Meghan’s father and half-siblings are loose cannons.
I don’t think she was paid and made money off the interview. Also, she IS the subject being interviewed about herself as the subject. She’s not running her mouth about someone else as the subject like her relatives are!
(And, of course, like everyone else, the interview was approved. She’s not dumb like her half-sister!)
@ Mary
Why can’t MM talk about her relationship, she is not talking about other people’s relationships? She has every right to talk about her life.
And yes, this is Meghan’s second marriage, but it’s also Harry’s first, maybe he wanted to do a big celebration, my husband wanted a big wedding and I wanted a smaller affair.
We have no idea who wanted what and why it was decided to do it this way.
Meghan’s first marriage wasn’t to such a prominent man, like Prince Harry, so of course it wasn’t on the first page of almost every newspaper.
MM wasn’t famous enough and neither was her former hubby.
I don’t care what her first husband thinks about anything, it’s none of his business, there is a good reason why people get divorced.
He has his life and Meghan has hers.
The people who are creating the so called circus are not Meghan or Harry, it’s Mr. Markle and his lovely children from the first marriage.
I have yet to see anything negative that Meghan has said about her family, but I’ve seen plenty from her half siblings that she barely knows, because she was a little kid when her parents divorced.
I am so here for TQ going all salty old broad and cursing Meghan’s father out. Or cheering Philip on as he shows his famous temper; even at 96 and recovering from hip surgery, I think he can still give one he** of a tongue lashing!
i would be totally okay with the Queen telling off her dad. You don’t have to like her. You don’t have to like Harry. We all have interesting people in our families. Imagine these asshole family members doing all of this on the worlds stage. Then talk to me like this is no big deal. I would be so upset if I was Meghan. I cannot imagine my own father selling me out like this.
@ SheBug
Rosarito, in Baja Calif. is a 1 hour drive from San Diego CA.* Many (Norte)Californians have vacation homes there & it’s been a popular place for retired CA expats for 70+ years because of the proximity to US & low cost of living. It’s popular with West Coast college kids for spring breaks, similar to Ft. Lauderdale for East Coast kids.
*Returning to the US takes much longer due to congestion @ the Tijuana border crossing, with Honduran & other Central American refugees now camped in tents on the Baja side, waiting to enter the US.
MX has crime issues in many areas & Rosarito isn’t the worst. Drug smugglers & gangs generally avoid mixing it up in residential neighborhoods. There are parts of many US (and maybe UK) cities best avoided by tourists & local residents. Same in Paris, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, etc. Thomas chose to move there many years ago.
The half-sister is 17 years older than MM & so they didn’t grow up together or often stay in the same house. Her parents split when Meghan was 2. Sis started asking MM for money years ago, when Meg’s career became successful.
I don’t see why you think Sis, who famously referred to Doria as “the maid” is entitled to anything, even a holiday greeting card. Sis has had both mental & physical health issues for a long time. She gets disability income from the government plus gov’t subsidized medical care because she’s on disability. She’s divorced & maybe still gets some payments from her own ex? That she feels entitled to anything from her little half-sis is indicative of her personality disorder.
They have tons of skeletons rattling around in their closets so they need to chill. People in glass houses…..
It’s not like her dad would be an integral part of her life so I don’t see the big deal. I hope he can make it for Meghan’s sake but the queen has no right to have an attitude about the situation at all. This too shall pass like all the scandals in the royal family.
You know, I do wonder what those royal and special people would do if they came across a REAL problem in life.
Baffles me to bits.
Please what do you mean by real problem in life? Like loosing your mother at the age of 13? I would call this a very, a extremely real problem, don’t you? What about the divorce of the parents, where would that range among your real problems scale? Or having a parent with psychic problems? Just because their are so called royals and have money does not mean they did not face real problems.
That’s what I meant. That’s what I would call real problems and not the fact that their future duchess or whatever’s father has his picture in the tabloids by paying, which is something EVERY famous person, even royalty, does. And just so you know, my comment was about the angry queen and the angry prince Philip, not about Harry, who I actually like.