Queen Elizabeth Was Alarmed By 'Damage' Meghan Markle's Feud With Estranged Dad Could Cause Royal Family
Queen Elizabeth II had been worried that Meghan Markle's broken relationship with her estranged father would negatively affect the royal family, according to a royal expert.
The Duchess of Sussex has been estranged from her dad, Thomas Markle Sr., since he was caught staging paparazzi photos in the run-up to her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. According to Meghan, her father -- who pulled out of his daughter's wedding just days before the lavish ceremony -- also lied to her about talking to the press.
Daily Mail Diary editor and "Palace Confidential" panelist Richard Eden, citing an unnamed royal source, reported that Queen Elizabeth -- who passed away in September 2022 -- was "alarmed" by the father and daughter's feud at the time.
"Meghan's public disagreements with her father set alarm bells ringing at the time," the insider told the journalist. "Her Majesty realized the potential damage they could do to the royal family in general."
"Looking back, the Queen might have had an inkling of what was to come," the source further claimed.
According to Eden, Queen Elizabeth tried to help Meghan mend fences with Thomas by advising her to send him a letter.
The former "Suits" star confirmed in her and Prince Harry's 2022 Netflix docuseries that she had reached out to the Queen and asked for her advice when she failed to reconcile with her dad.
"Ultimately, it was suggested by the Queen and the Prince of Wales [now King Charles] that I write my dad a letter," the Duchess of Sussex said in the "Harry & Meghan" doc.
However, the five-page handwritten letter Meghan wrote for her dad Thomas widened the rift between them after it ended up in the pages of The Mail on Sunday in early 2019.
Meghan later sued the British tabloid for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement over the publication of the letter and won.
Thomas claimed to the Mail that he did not originally intend to make the letter public but was forced to do so because its contents had been falsely reported.
The retired Hollywood lighting director also said that his daughter's note left him feeling devastated.
"I thought it would be an olive branch. Instead, it was a dagger to the heart," Thomas said.
In her letter, Meghan wrote that her father's actions left her heartbroken and asked him to "stop lying" during interviews.
"If you love me, as you tell the press you do, please stop. Please allow us to live our lives in peace. Please stop lying, please stop creating so much pain, please stop exploiting my relationship with my husband," she wrote.
Thomas, who turned 80 this week, said in an interview with the Daily Mail earlier this month that Meghan has not spoken to him since the wedding and that he hasn't met his son-in-law, Prince Harry, and grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
In their docuseries, Prince Harry described Meghan's estrangement from her father as "incredibly sad."
"She had a father before this and now she doesn't have a father," the royal said. "And I shouldered that because if Meg wasn't with me, then her dad would still be her dad."
