Meghan Markle's Estranged Brother Asked Queen Elizabeth II to Reunite Their Family

Louisa Ballhaus

Click here to read the full article.

Since Meghan Markle became a royal, she’s had no shortage of public conflict with her family. While the Duchess herself has kept largely quiet, her father and siblings have been happy to share their feelings with the press. Most recently, Meghan’s half-brother Thomas asked Queen Elizabeth II to help end their feud, insisting that another members of the royal family should step in if Meghan can’t see her way to reconciliation. Thomas Markle Jr. said that he disapproves of certain behaviors Meghan’s exhibited since becoming a royal — no word, however, on whether he’d like the Queen to have a chat with her about those too.

Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Markle Jr. expressed concern over Meghan’s continued estrangement from her father and siblings, and urged the royal family to fix the situation. “I think the Queen should step in and tell Meghan to make amends with her father and family,” Markle Jr. offered as one solution. Alternately, he believes “Charles should step in and say, ‘Something’s not right.'” He added: “They should force her into this, or it’s just going to continue to cause problems in her life.” It’s unclear exactly what problems he might be referring to — but we’re definitely not crazy about the semi-threatening tone.

More from SheKnows

Honestly, Markle Jr.’s overall tone is pretty condescending and makes no mention of the betrayals that caused Meghan to cut off her family to begin with. “Now you’re a mother, I hope you’re grown up and mature enough to figure out family is very important,” Markle Jr. offered as a message to his half-sister. “Some day I hope you’re smart enough and mature enough to open up and let your family into your life, and baby Archie’s life […] Most of all I hope you call your father and let him be at least a part of yours and Archie’s life. You owe him that.”

For those in need of a refresher, Meghan opted to limit contact with her father after he admitted to staging paparazzi photos ahead of her wedding — then made public a five-page letter she’d written him expressing how hurt she was by his behavior. Markle Jr. doesn’t mention any specifics of their falling out, but brings their father into it repeatedly: “My father doesn’t know this Meghan any more,” he said. “This is a different Meghan than we all grew up with. It’s very very strange.”

To cap things off, Markle Jr. tried a classic guilt-trip tactic on his half-sister before suggesting that Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland could be the next to be estranged. “If something critical happens to our father, would Meghan show up? I honestly don’t think she would,” Markle Jr. mused to himself. “God forbid she’s not that heartless. I don’t think anybody could live with that for her entire life.” As for her relationship with Ragland (which, by all other accounts, is thriving), Markle Jr. had this to say: “She gets a day here, a day there… that’s about it.” Hmm…did he miss the part where Ragland joined the Sussex royals ahead of Archie’s birth?

If Markle Jr. truly wanted to mend the rift between Meghan and the rest of her family, surely he would try to reach out to her privately — not continue to insult Meghan’s intelligence and misconstrue her behavior to the press. Family is important, but Meghan has her chosen family by her side. Markle Jr. can yell about the fact that they’re related as much as he wants, but Meghan is under no obligation to let him back into her life because of it. In fact, we applaud Meghan’s strength in recognizing when she needed to cut these relationships off: It’s never easy, but it really can be for the best.

 

Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.