I remember just before Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding last year, when the British papers suddenly “revealed” something they had known for months: that Thomas Markle had been setting up paparazzi photos for profit. I felt like I was on crack as I watched the British papers act like this was brand-new information, and that it was obviously Meghan’s fault for not taking better care of her dad. All of that set the tone for the cracked-out shenanigans of both Thomas Markle and the British tabloid press for months to come. All of it has a performative nature on both sides, and Thomas is working in tandem with the British media to denigrate and destroy Meghan.

So it is with the letter Meghan sent Thomas last August. She basically sent him a long-detonation bomb: she knew he would eventually sell the letter, so she made sure that when the letter became public, she would in fact be airing her side of their drama. And for that, she’s being criticized too, because again, everything about this makes me feel like I’m smoking crack. Meghan is a smart chess player who thinks ten steps ahead, and for that she’s being criticized. Everything she wrote to her father is true, and he sold the letter, and somehow to the British press it’s all still Meghan’s fault.

The Mail on Sunday dined out on the newly-revealed letter, and you can see their coverage here. Meghan takes her dad to task thoroughly, and Thomas offered commentary on what she said piece by piece. One of the stupidest moments is that he acts like Americans don’t know the expression “down the rabbit hole.” Um, Americans are familiar with Alice In Wonderland, dumbass. Anyway, Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair managed to get another exclusive, and obviously it’s gentle on Meghan:

Meghan is said to be “at her wit’s end” over her father’s decision to continue giving interviews, despite her pleas with him to stop speaking out. Kensington Palace has declined to comment on the letter, while sources close to the duchess say she has no plans to comment, fearing it could escalate an already difficult situation. “She cares for her dad, and has concerns for him and his mental health, which is one of the reasons she doesn’t want to comment on this,” says a source. “It’s a very complex, very emotional situation, and let’s not forget she is seven months pregnant.”

Markle said he had planned to keep the letter private, but felt that after Meghan’s friends rushed to her defense and attacked him via People magazine, he had no choice but to defend himself. “The letter was presented in a way that vilified me and wasn’t true,” he told the Mail on Sunday. The full contents of the letter were not made public, and more details could be released this weekend.

Meghan is said to be devastated that her 74-year-old dad has once again betrayed her privacy. In the handwritten letter, some of which was printed in the Mail on Sunday over the weekend, the duchess begged her father to stop talking to the papers, so they could try to work through their difficulties.

It has also emerged that the Queen is concerned about the situation between Meghan and her father. A family friend has told Vanity Fair that the monarch is aware of the family rift, and urged Prince Harry and Meghan to try to sort out the situation with Markle before Christmas. “She told them both that the whole thing was becoming a nightmare, and that they should try and sort things out,” according to the friend. Buckingham Palace refused to comment on the claim.

Markle’s decision to share his daughter’s letter with the press is further evidence of how strained the relationship is. Those close to Meghan and Harry say that Markle’s decision to speak out to the press again has likely cost him any chance of a reconciliation, and that Harry is “angry” and “upset” that his father-in-law, who he has yet to meet, is still speaking to the press.

[From Vanity Fair]

“Markle said he had planned to keep the letter private, but felt that after Meghan’s friends rushed to her defense and attacked him via People magazine, he had no choice but to defend himself.” He planned to keep the letter private because even he understood that the letter contradicted some of his own unhinged false statements to the press. That’s why Meghan’s a good chess player – she didn’t want her father’s bullsh-t hanging over her during the birth of her first child. So she detonated the bomb by having her friends talk about the letter to People Mag, thus ensuring that Thomas would have to reveal it.

And also: Thomas has no defense. He’s not “defending himself,” he’s just selling out Meghan yet again. What’s driving me crazy is that no one in the British media seems to give a sh-t that Thomas Markle is a toxic, emotionally abusive hypocritical liar who is only looking to profit from his connection to Meghan. They’re too busy twisting themselves into knots to find a way to blame Meghan for setting boundaries from a toxic parent.

Photos courtesy of WENN, The Sun, Avalon Red.