Queen encouraged Meghan Markle to mend her 'damaged' relationship with father Thomas Markle
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: A royal source told Katie Nicholl, author of upcoming book 'The New Royals', that the late Queen made an effort to persuade Meghan Markle to mend fences with her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
“The Queen could see how damaging the situation was between Meghan and her father and she did speak to Meghan about it and tried to encourage her to talk to Thomas,” Nicholl wrote in her upcoming book which will be out on October 4.
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Nicholl was informed by the royal insider how the late monarch felt “the whole thing was quite badly handled with Thomas Markle and it if had been done differently, it would have come out better.”
The 78-year-old former lighting designer for TV operas and sitcoms was scheduled to accompany his daughter down the aisle at St George's Chapel but changed his mind after images appeared of him supposedly having a suit tailored and studying books on the United Kingdom. He dropped out of the event and had heart surgery after admitting he had worked with a paparazzo to fabricate the images.
“The service was beautiful and its history. I will always regret not being able to be there and not being able to hold my daughter’s hand,” Markle’s father said of the ceremony, which he watched from his bed. Thomas also said that he had lied to and hung up on Prince Harry during an argument before the royal wedding and that Harry had cautioned him not to collaborate with the press. In the end, King Charles stepped in and escorted his future daughter-in-law down the aisle.
The rift between the duchess and her father deepened after she accused him of disclosing the contents of a private letter she wrote to him after her wedding. The 'Suits' actor filed a lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday for publishing the letter and ultimately prevailed in court.
In it, she begged her father to “stop creating so much pain.” She shared, “Please stop exploiting my relationship with my husband … I realize you are so far down this rabbit hole that you feel (or may feel) there’s no way out, but if you take a moment to pause I think you’ll see that being able to live with a clear conscience is more valuable than any payment in the world."
Nicholl said that the Queen was disappointed that Harry had not met his prospective father-in-law in Mexico. “I think she felt that Harry should certainly have met Thomas Markle and it was unfortunate that that had to happen,” Nicholl said.
The Queen, who passed away on September 8 at the age of 96, desired not just for Meghan to make amends with her father, but also for Harry and the rest of the royal family. “The Queen adored Harry right to the end, and Harry adored her,” royal author Robert Hardman told People. “I think she was one of the conduits between Windsor and California and it would have been one of her dearest wishes that they patch things up.”