Prince Harry has been accused of widening the rift between Meghan Markle and her father, Thomas Markle, as well as other loved ones. It comes after the duchess of Sussex’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, confirmed that a comment made by the prince in 2017 caused damage within the Markle family.
Both Harry and Meghan are pretty distant from their own families. While Harry has indicated that he would like reconciliation with his father, Meghan seemingly has no interest in getting back in contact with hers. The Duchess has been distant with her father and his side of the family for a long time. The estrangement was the result of Thomas Markle staging paparazzi photos and leaking private information about his daughter to journalists.
Harry’s comments cause upset
While Thomas’ actions are one side of the story, her half sister, Samantha, suggested that Meghan meeting Harry might have had something to do with her choice to cut off her family.
In the months before their wedding in 2018, Harry sat down with Radio 4 for an interview. He made comments which “heightened the already tenuous family dynamic” within Meghan’s family according to royal author, Omid Scobie.
During the interview the prince was asked about any family traditions he would have to explain to Meghan. He explained there were “Plenty. We’ve got one of the biggest families that I know of and every family is complex as well. She’s done an absolutely amazing job.” The prince then went on to say, “She’s getting in there and it’s the family, I suppose, she’s never had.”
It’s this last comment which seemingly caused some upset amongst the other Markles. Samantha Markle took to X (Twitter at the time) to address what Harry had said.
“Actually she has a large family who were always there with her and for her. Our household was very normal and when dad and Doria divorced, we all made it so it was like she had two houses. No one was estranged, she was just too busy.”
Did the prince force Meghan’s estrangement?
A couple of years later, in a documentary covering Meghan’s relationship with her family, Samantha claimed that “something was not right.” The Markles began to get suspicious, “Why would you need to set the stage differently? It was starting to feel like she wasn’t reaching out to the family.” The timing of Meghan’s shift in attitude was convenient.
Perhaps Harry’s struggles with his own family prompted Meghan to cut off her own. The prince had never publicly spoken against his father prior to his marriage. In a 2021 interview he claimed, “when it comes to parenting if I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering.” He went to to say he would “break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on.”
The comments from Meghan’s family directly contradict the narrative the duchess has spun. Which side of the story is true? Only they know. But Meghan’s sister seems to suggest that she started growing distant from her family as she grew closer to Prince Harry. Whether Harry was aware of this or if it’s something Meghan just chose to do is another mystery we can’t answer.
Published: May 13, 2025 07:00 am