Bower: Prince Charles & the Queen wanted Meghan to reconcile with her dad

Jason Knauf has returned to the royal fold, if he even left in the first place. One of the worst things Knauf ever did was break his royal employer’s confidentiality to turn over highly selective work product to the Mail on Sunday’s lawyers. Knauf turned over texts between himself and the Duchess of Sussex from 2018. That summer, Thomas Markle was blanketing the British media, doing unhinged weekly interviews with Piers Morgan, the Sun and the Mail. In some of the texts, Meghan tells Knauf that Harry’s family has been “berating” him about Thomas Markle’s interviews and that’s why she thinks it’s a good idea to handwrite a letter to her father. The infamous letter was the one Thomas gave/sold to the Mail in 2019, which started Meghan’s lawsuit against the Mail, etc. I bring up this history because a very strange version of this appears in Tom Bower’s stupid new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors. Bower tries to do a revisionist history on the whole mess and it’s extremely strange:

The Queen and Prince Charles were left exasperated after Meghan resisted their demands to fix the crisis-hit relationship with her dad Thomas Markle, a major new book reveals. Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors, by Tom Bower tells how senior royals held a conference call just weeks after Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018 to try to persuade her to reconcile with her father.

Thomas, now 77, had spoken out saying he didn’t attend the wedding because he was embarrassed after staging paparazzi photos. This contradicted Meghan’s version of events that it was because he was too ill after suffering a heart attack.

The retired lighting director even slammed the “outdated” Royal Family in TV interviews, claiming he had no way of contacting his daughter and feared he would die without ever speaking to her again. Biographer Bower writes that the reasons given by Meghan not to fly to his home in Mexico to visit him for a reconciliation had started to anger Charles and the Queen.

Bower says that, by July 2018, Charles’s irritation had come to a head. He writes: “He had never really understood her or what she wanted. That week, his irritation about Thomas Markle’s TV appearances, especially his criticism of the Royal Family, came to a head. ‘Can’t she just go and see him and make this stop?” Charles “berated” Harry. Charles could not understand Harry’s ‘explanations’. Harry did not tell his father about Thomas’s fury at being ignored by his daughter. Harry explained that Meghan refused to telephone Thomas Markle because she suspected that ‘his phone was not in his possession’ and ‘his email account was compromised’. The inconsistencies of Meghan’s excuses not only irritated Charles but perhaps also the Queen.”

Bower reveals that Prince Charles, Harry and Meghan gathered for the call during a break together at the Castle of Mey, the Queen’s Mother’s former home in Caithness, Scotland. The Queen, now 96, was on the other end. He writes: “She joined Charles in a conference call with Meghan and Harry. At the outset, Charles and his mother urged Meghan to fly to America for a reconciliation.”

Meghan could not accept the suggestion, saying: “It was completely unrealistic to think I could fly discreetly to Mexico, arrive unannounced at his doorstep (as I had no means of secure communication with my father), to a location and residence I had never visited or known, in a small border town . . . and somehow hope to speak privately to my father without causing a frenzy of media attention and intrusion that could bring more embarrassment to the Royal Family.”

The conference call ended with both the senior royals vexed. “I was especially sensitive to this” Meghan later admitted, “as I had very recently married into the family and was eager to please them.”

[From The Sun]

“‘I was especially sensitive to this’ Meghan later admitted” – she texted that to Jason Knauf. All of the quotes “from Meghan” are her 2018 texts to Jason Knauf, before she knew that he was merely Prince William’s henchman. Bower presents those texts without context, like they weren’t presented in court as part of Meghan’s lawsuit against the Mail. As if Meghan didn’t have to release the full texts after Knauf only released selections. It’s from those texts that we know that Charles was badgering Harry about how Meghan should fly to Mexico to see Thomas. Meghan did refuse, because she knew that her father would gleefully sell her out and it would be an even bigger issue.

This is completely infuriating too: “Thomas, now 77, had spoken out saying he didn’t attend the wedding because he was embarrassed after staging paparazzi photos. This contradicted Meghan’s version of events that it was because he was too ill after suffering a heart attack.” That was not Meghan’s version of events. That was Toxic Tom’s cover story. He faked a heart attack and told TMZ first. Bower is an idiot. Knauf is a clown. Thomas is a compromised liar. Why are those men still attacking her?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, The Sun screencap.

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62 Responses to “Bower: Prince Charles & the Queen wanted Meghan to reconcile with her dad”

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  1. C says:

    Well, no, Charles, she couldn’t make it stop, considering your oldest son was responsible for creating the situation.

    • Snarky says:

      What??? How is the Markle / Ragland family William’s fault?

      • C says:

        Mmm, your comment is kinda sus since you mentioned the Raglands and they had nothing to do with this nor have they sold Meghan out in any way.

        Jason Knauf under William is responsible for making the Thomas Markle situation pre-wedding as bad as it was and also for the letter situation with the Mail case. And there is a reason Thomas repeatedly refers to Kensington Palace saying things like “they owe me” and wanting to contact them despite Harry and Meghan not being affiliated with them anymore.

      • Debbie says:

        @C: You’re being far too generous by saying that the comment is “kinda sus.” Comments like that are what happens when people’s hostility just comes bubbling to the surface and leak out without their being aware of it. We see it though.

      • Margaret says:

        @SNARKY
        Toxic tom, has already leaked, the plan was to stop the wedding. Also you missed the report that cameltoe was communicating almost weekly with old toxic tom, before the wedding, sending him gifts. Why?. You aught to wonder why the bm buried that story, as soon as it came out, like in the blink of a eye.

      • James says:

        @SNARKY TROLL

  2. Polo says:

    Like I posted before he wants to be sued. His book is full of blatant lies that can easily be disproved but he wants the attention that he’ll get from “being cancelled” by Harry and Meghan if they pursue a lawsuit which I don’t think they will.

    I actually feel like he made a plan with the daily mail so that they can have endless stories about Harry and Meghan thereby keeping their money making machine flowing.

    • Eurydice says:

      He might want to be sued, but I can’t imagine his publisher does.

    • Well Wisher says:

      You might be on to something, it is either what you’ve stated or he is unaware that fact checking services are available on demand.
      A mediocre writer who probably decided to go for martyrdom by being sued.
      Here’s hoping that his inconsequential book rises and falls on it’s own merits.
      This is worse that the National Examiner in the US, they have a sense of humour and their articles were beyond belief.
      This man is seriously delusional or thinks that he’s ‘crazy like a fox’.
      Inaction and time will tell.

  3. girl_ninja says:

    harles’s irritation had come to a head. He writes: “He had never really understood her or what she wanted. That week, his irritation about Thomas Markle’s TV appearances, especially his criticism of the Royal Family, came to a head.

    That man didn’t diss the RF at all he actually scolded his daughter on his television appearances. Especially when Harry and Meghan decided to leave salt island. This all some bullsh*t. Again, something is going down and they are using Meghan as a distraction.

  4. Snuffles says:

    “Meghan could not accept the suggestion, saying: “It was completely unrealistic to think I could fly discreetly to Mexico, arrive unannounced at his doorstep (as I had no means of secure communication with my father), to a location and residence I had never visited or known, in a small border town . . . and somehow hope to speak privately to my father without causing a frenzy of media attention and intrusion that could bring more embarrassment to the Royal Family.”

    Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. What did Charles and the Queen not get? It’s literally like walking into a trap. At best, the paparazzi would have pounced all over her. At worst, she could have been kidnapped or killed going there alone, without security in a shady border town. And I’m inclined to believe many in The Firm would have been happy with.

    • Tanya says:

      Just shows that 1) they have terrible instincts when it comes to modern image management; and 2) their first instinct is always that Megan should always appease bullies in the name of family.

      • 👌 Hanna says:

        Bullies to include her family, especially the steps who no doubt resented her because Tom provided things for her that he’d not for them which is common with second families. Her mom left and he tried to make up for it. Once Meghan started making some money he wanted to be paid back. She’s said he didn’t handle his finances well. He spent $ sending a 40 something Sam to grad school and bought her a flower shop. I think they were all money hungry and resented Meg’s success that she had to work doubly hard for. Once she was linked with Harry the cash registers in their heads were going off in OT.

        I don’t think Meg was close with either parent at the time of her engagement which is why Harry made the comment about her finally having a family who cares. The public wanted to hear her story so she had to come up with a narrative to share with the media outlets to appease them. She was a grown woman marrying for the second time so why was she expected to include her parents at all?

        Tom wasn’t involved with her first wedding or husband. I think she kept Harry away from him cause she knew Sam was there lurking and encouraging Tom’s actions like the fake photos. She’s egged him on from the get go and was helping him run his anti -Sussex You Tube channel up until his stroke last month.

        From the start the Brits and many Americans called Meghan gold digging trash and her family’s actions just supported that theory which is unfortunate since she’d made something of herself. I was excited about her to begin with but erroneously bought into the narrative that she dissed her dad before the wedding. Bottom line, Tom has shown his true colors since he wasted no time talking to Piers Morgan and hasn’t shut up since. He claims to be so mindful of what the RF has dealt with yet had no problem dishing to the Press whom they loathe. Meanwhile Meghan has held her tongue about what kind of people her family truly are. I think she did that to save Harry and the Firm embarrassment. The way Charles and Cam catered to Doria truly struck with people and was no doubt some of the best Press coverage they’ve had in a long time.

        Meghan’s guilty of wanting a better life than the one she was born into. The same holds true of her sister-in-law who didn’t even try to support herself while chasing the golden ticket. The critics decided because of various superficial reasons she’s not worthy and the more she proves them wrong, the more the jealous and underachieving bigots go at her.

    • Becks1 says:

      It shows how completely out of touch they both were (are.) Of course they wanted Thomas Markle to stop, so did Meghan, but why would he stop when he was being actively encouraged to keep attacking Meghan by various sources? Flying to Mexico would have been a disaster and I’m glad Meghan realized that.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        Not only realized @ Becks1, but refused! Meghan knew how dangerous it would have been for her to fly to Mexico, to a place she has never been, as she has no idea where TT lives!

        IF Charles and the Queen were to the point of exasperated by TT, it could have easily been addressed as easily with the Queen as well as Charles to contact ALL of the BM outlets that were giving TT a platform and tell them to cease ALL communications. No BM firm nor any British tv platform would have given TT a second more of coverage!!! Who would go against the QUEEN?

        The Queen ALONE has that power, as does Charles!! They could have simply nipped this in the bud themselves. My gawd, how utterly useless they were (are)!!

        Which proves that this story from Bower is nothing but a fabrication created in his tiny brain.

      • Debbie says:

        Ah but, if Meghan had taken their ridiculous advice, gone to Mexico and been caught in a new paparazzi storm, it would have been a disaster for everyone but Tom and the BM. Then, there would have been endless stories about how Meghan doesn’t realize that she’s no longer in Hollywood and scandals can’t be resolved that way in the BFF. They would have said (belatedly) that Meghan should have adopted the “don’t explain, don’t complain” strategy. I’m so glad she had the presence of mind, self-confidence, and maturity to do what she knew was best because it couldn’t have been easy to say no to the in-laws, esp. when they have influence and history behind them. But Meghan has been dealing with Toxic Tom for years, she knows him too.

    • Sunday says:

      She was 100% right, especially when you remember that some tabloid “reporter” lady literally moved in next to M’s dad. This was a setup from start to finish and when Meg didn’t bite on the trip or a call they leaked her letter to the press instead and assured the Fail that she wouldn’t sue (because they wouldn’t let her). We all know what happened to Diana – I’m sure the palace did want her to travel to Mexico alone, and I’m so glad that she didn’t.

      They weaponized her father in an attempt to stop the wedding and, when that failed, they did everything they could to defame and humiliate her, including gaslighting her about stopping the problem they instigated in the first place. What vile people.

    • BeanieBean says:

      I’m not sure why anyone thought Meghan needed to go. They could have sent a Tom Hagen-type to talk some sense into him.

    • Haylie says:

      Right. Looking at that, it looks like QEII and Charles were trying to set her up for very bad things to happen to her. They better push back a little more than “I wonder if QEII was thinking more about Phillip.”

  5. Amy Bee says:

    Bowers fooled a lot of people into thinking that his book was going to have some bombshell revelations. Again is this supposed to make Meghan look bad? Bowers lives in a racist and misogynistic bubble.

    • Noor says:

      Agree this does not make Meghan looks bad. Meghan come across as realistic, fearless and practical, leaving the readers to conclude that the Queen and Prince Charles appeared out of touch with their impractical demand.

  6. Louise177 says:

    “This is completely infuriating too: “Thomas, now 77, had spoken out saying he didn’t attend the wedding because he was embarrassed after staging paparazzi photos. This contradicted Meghan’s version of events that it was because he was too ill after suffering a heart attack.” I don’t get how he can say this when it’s a well known fact that Thomas had been saying for years he had a heart attack. Bower’s book has so many lies and half truths that I can’t believe it was published. I feel like this is an easy libel suit considering Thomas said this in dozens of interviews and I don’t think Meghan actually talked about it.

    • Jais says:

      This absolutely is infuriating. TM told everyone he did not attend due to his health. So did he admit to bower that there was never a heart attack? Is he trying to say he never said that there was one? Trying to cover up that original lie by blaming it on Meghan. What the hell. These men are gross.

  7. ThatsNotOkay says:

    Meghan is also dealing with a toxic narcissist. No amount of discussion with Tom would bring him to reason, especially since anything she said to him would wind up in both Samantha and the tabloids’ ears and splashed on the front pages and any rag. She has probably been to therapy and learned how to deal with her malignant family members. Now Harry has too. See how that works?

  8. Beenie says:

    Bower is a pathological liar. I really don’t want him to get away with this car wreck of a book.

  9. Lila says:

    Meghan understands you don’t have to recreate unhealthy dynamics. Break the cycle. Harry does too.

    Chuck and Queenie do not. Neither does William. And look where everyone ended up!

  10. Jen d says:

    This is really strange. He’s telling weird lies that don’t make the royal family look any better – just switching around the narrative.

    I kind of love how Thomas Markle has been foisted on them. He’s such a gross guy, and I’m not sure they realize how much he’s going to try to milk them for this. The royal family deserves him.

    • C says:

      They foisted him on themselves. Kensington Palace under William and Knauf roped him into all of this purposefully to try to stop the wedding.

    • ThatsNotOkay says:

      The funny thing is, with the suitcases full of cash, and the pedophiles, and the helicopter expenses, and the laziness, and the racism, Thomas Markle is the absolute least of their worries. They need some introspection and to start analyzing their own households.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        Yes @ ThatsNotOkay. Yet they can’t seem to get out of their own way to realize that. Forever clueless and utterly useless.

  11. Colby says:

    “ That was not Meghan’s version of events. That was Toxic Tom’s cover story.”

    This. Thisthisthis.

    Tom also “had a stroke” before he was supposed to attend the Jubilee. It’s all BS.

  12. aquarius64 says:

    Do you notice the Windsors wanted Meghan to go to Mexico to deal with Toxic Tom? TT was demanding to see the queen and Scammy wanted him to be invited to BP. This alleged event shows the Windsors regarded Thomas Markle as American trailer trash ( and probably Scam and Jr. too). The funny thing is, Bad Dad has been carrying water for the BRF in his attacks on the Sussexes and this book makes him look like a fool in doing so.

  13. Jan says:

    Toxic Tom is of no value to the BM, so he has been cast aside.
    The faked stroke like the faked heart attack served their purpose.
    I’m my opinion, with all the drama her father caused in the last 5 years, I don’t think for one minute Meghan regrets cutting ties with TT, she rather fly to Texas and comfort strangers.

  14. Angelica Schuyler says:

    The more I read these stories, the more disgusted I become with the royal family and all these royal adjacent people (RRs etc). They just continually berate Meghan for not accepting their abuse, her father’s abuse, Harry’s friends’ abuse etc….. They fully expect her (and by extension any POC) to know her “place” and sacrifice herself and her dignity for the good of the family, or the monarchy etc. Too bad if it could literally cost her her life.

    The whole thing is beyond contemptable, and they keep showing their colors with every new tidbit they release. Go on Bowers. Show us how much worse than expected the BRF really is. The more he tries to make Meghan look bad, the more we can see how truly evil this whole system and these people really are.

    I’m so glad they got out and live their lives freely in Cali now.

    • Tessa says:

      They also expected Meghan to take the blame for the crying story, something Kate should have denied to the media. Kate could have saved face by doing so but let Meghan be trashed by the media for something she did not do.

  15. Jan says:

    The author of this book is a proven liar, he wrote a book about Jeremy Corbin, and the Dailyfail published excerpts from and was successfully sued for libel by Corbin.
    I’m glad the Sussexes are ignoring it, just like Tina Brown’s tabloid book.

    • KFG says:

      I’m glad they’re not addressing him either. He looks stupid and any publications that print what he wrote are bound to lose any ability to interview or interact with the Sussexes because they can be identified as not credible. As pointed out on Twitter, there are no citations, no named sources, 90% of leaked excerpts are disproven, and none of the stories make Meghan look bad. This book is just white supremacy lamenting the loss of power over a BIPOC woman and the better brother. This identifies the entire aristocracy and BRF as ignorant, racist, bigoted, sexist, petty, childish, shallow, and weak. Not the flex they thought

      • ANON says:

        “This book is just white supremacy lamenting the loss of power over a BIPOC woman and the better brother.”

        Standing ovation for you, @KFG!

  16. Flower says:

    Throughout the Toxic Tom saga, I got the impression that things were being orchestrated behind the scenes by the BRF to get Meghan to ‘heel’.

    That line in the Crown where Princess Margaret talking about Princess Diana ‘bending or breaking’ always springs to mind and it strikes me that they were trying to use her father to control her by controlling him.

    My guess is that they expected her to be embarrassed by his outbursts and then acquiesce to this demands, then as soon as he was in the fold they would use his leaks and generally toxic behavior to control Meghan.

    They flucked up however as Meghan was one step ahead when she finally wrote that letter to her father, knowing that the BRF planned to leak it to the DM. In the end she later humiliated the lot of them in court. One day when the dust has settled we will all get the cliff notes to that horrible saga.

    From all the labels ascribed to Meghan i.e. difficult, woke, etc etc it’s clear that the BRF were terrified of her star power and in doing so they repeatedly tried to clip her wings. However paradoxically they have now unleashed a much more powerful version of Meghan that eclipses the entirety of that family.

    • Angelica Schuyler says:

      Yes. Everything you’ve said here makes perfect sense. I too, have thought of that same scene in The Crown. The BRF are so convinced of their “superiority” that they continually underestimate Meghan. And she will continue to eclipse them.

      In my imagination I see Meghan and Harry driving down the Pacific Coast Highway with Beyonce’s song blasting at top volume. I can picture them singing “You won’t break my soul!” with joy and happiness.

    • ANON says:

      “it strikes me that they were trying to use her father to control her by controlling him.” Yup. Abusers will use anything they have to try to control you. It’s the same reason couples’ counseling is not recommended for people in abusive relationships.

      I agree, by driving her away they unleashed an even more powerful Meghan! I’m so glad for her and for anyone who leaves a toxic situation.

    • aftershocks says:

      @Flower, I agree with most of your comments, except we should be clear in recognizing that Meghan did NOT know that KP operatives and members of the BRF were actively working against her until it became more obvious in late 2018 and early 2019 that some of the many leaks against her and Harry were coming directly from Knauf.

      When Meghan was working on her letter to Toxic Tom and texting Knauf in August and September 2018, she did not know Knauf was involved in working against her. At that point, she suspected only that her father might leak any correspondence she sent him because he was already clearly talking to the media for pay. The purpose of her letter was to try and get through to Toxic Tom to stop his betrayals.

      That Meghan was being horrifically betrayed by Knauf and KP did not become crystal clear to M&H until months later. By the time of the Oprah interview, M&H knew clearly and had been trying to process the full extent of the BRF betrayals. Meghan knew by then that members of the royal firm had been directly involved in compromising her father and trying to use him against her.

  17. CheChe says:

    Whatever is between Meghan and father the issue is their stuff and not for others to mediate for clicks.

    • Tessa says:

      Her father went repeatedly to the media so he made it a public event. It is their issue but he made it a public issue and got money for it.

    • Tessa says:

      That is the way it should have been. Her father made it a public event and was encouraged by the media to make it public.

      • CheChe says:

        Tom Markle may have gone public ,but Meghan left it as a private issue -even in the Oprah interview by merely saying she “lost” a father. Others wanted to make it an issue especially the Markle clan ,but what else did they have to stay relevant for clicks. Meghan kept a classy silence and the royals had no business weighing in on the matter. Note they didn’t take issue with BM harassment. Just because a monkey screams doesn’t mean you need to join in. The royals inserting themselves wasn’t about Meghan’s best interest …they had another nefarious mission

  18. ANON says:

    Look at all these gross men trying to profit off the pain of a woman. Not to mention, “Can’t she make him stop?” There is so much misogyny baked into the monarchy and tabloids. Abolish them both.

    Also, trying to “negotiate” when people assert boundaries is disgusting. Good for Meghan for sticking to hers.

  19. Tessa says:

    Charles did nothing to help Meghan and Harry re: Tom Markle.

  20. Tessa says:

    Tom said he had a heart attack, It seemed to me that it was a ploy to “stop the wedding.” Because the media begged Meghan to leave and go see her father in the hospital.

  21. Shawna says:

    It creeps me out thinking about all those months Meghan thought she was safe talking to Knauf. Photos of Knauf from this period make my flesh crawl.

    • Well Wisher says:

      Jason’s betrayal made him unemployable, so it came out in the wash.
      The reasons for said betrayal was deemed unacceptable.

  22. FTBRF says:

    I hope one day Harry just gets entirely fed up with this BS and drops the bomb about Bill’s affairs. FAFO

  23. @Princessk says:

    If this is true that the RF wanted her to fly to see her father it shows how stupid they all are and Meghan must know that. All they cared about was the embarrassment.

  24. equality says:

    Hard to believe that the Queen was in on a call wanting her to go to Mexico. Isn’t Liz’s usual style just to ignore things and wait for them to resolve themselves? And, if it’s so easy to resolve family disputes how come PC can’t manage to go visit PH and make peace? Why isn’t the Queen on a conference call with PC and PW about ending their feud against PH?

    • kirk says:

      What proof has Tom Bower presented to persuade anyone to believe that Betty was in on the call? Typical tabloid BRF writer.

  25. Truthiness says:

    How wonderful this crock of isht is published to detract from Bags of Money Charles. To detract from Will and Kate’s umpteenth vacation. The Sussexes have been gone for f-king YEARS, have had 2 children and a miscarriage, and British reporters can’t stop writing about Meghan. They have a corrupt pedo prince and a regent accepting cash and probably money laudering all the way home. Gaaaah.

    • kirk says:

      The problem is it doesn’t really distract from the many problems with Chuck’s bucks. Because “investigative journalist” Tom Bower who wrote this slop also wrote a 2018 book, ‘Rebel Prince’, about Chuck that said nothing at all about Chuck receiving suitcases of cash, giving out honors for cash, and personalized fundraising activities that Chuck disclaimed. What was in the book sounded like regurgitated tabloid titter reshaped for maximum impact in the Daily Fail serials.

  26. littlegossipgirl says:

    These men can’t handle a confident and capable woman. That’s why they keep attacking. Of course she didn’t want to reconcile with her abusive awful father. She won’t put up with disgusting behaviour like the Royal family just to keep up appearances. They could learn from her and maybe not protect paedophiles.

  27. SuzieQ says:

    Yes, Charles, it must be so frustrating when a family member won’t listen to pleas to stop causing controversy and adopt a lower profile.

    TQ and Chaz should get their own house in order.

  28. blunt talker says:

    If she had gone to see her father to patch things up -every news outlet in the UK would be on her father’s doorstep to see what happened or what was said-thomas would have let the news media know about the meeting-disgusting and revolting people to try and pull this. I truly believe Bowers/Bowels wrote this book to keep the headlines of Meghan and Harry going no fact checking for this shitgibbon.

  29. Annalise says:

    I just noticed in the wedding pics that Will and Kate did not sit next to each other in the church. It went Will, Charles, Camilla, Kate. The signs regarding the state of their marriage were there even back in 2018

    • Dot Gingell says:

      I wouldn’t read too much into the seating. W was best man so needed an aisle seat after he’d played his part in the ceremony. C&C’s seniority outrank K so they’d have been seated closer to the aisle than her.