Meghan Markle’s family dramas: can the future royal overcome it?
THE Markle debacle has reached boiling point after Meghan’s dad sensationally pulled out of her wedding. Now, a royal expert reveals what the royal bride-to-be’s future looks like.
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THE Markle debacle has reached boiling point after news broke of Meghan’s dad Thomas pulling out of the wedding in the wake of his staged paparrazi scandal.
And no doubt things are about to get worse, with Meghan’s bitter extended family photographed flying into London despite not being invited to the nuptials, for a series of TV interviews ahead of the wedding this Saturday.
The soon-to-be wife of Prince Harry has been plagued by scandal ever since she came onto the royal scene toward the end of 2016, thanks to her estranged half siblings and their many attempts at dragging her name through the mud.
Now her own father has added even more fuel to the fire, with royal experts predicting Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, will break royal protocol by giving her daughter away after Thomas backed out.
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“I suspect Meghan is still very hopeful he will take part and will be walking her up the aisle,”
Royal correspondent and Australian Women’s Weekly’s editor-at-large Juliet Rieden said.
“But the rest of us looking on think Thomas won’t be there, and we’d love it to be her mother.
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“She has been with Meghan the whole way, and it would be lovely to see a bit of girl power and see a new member of the royal family being walked up the aisle by her mother.
“It would be a big change in royal protocol.”
It has been a rocky road to the altar for the former Suits actress.
Just last month her half brother Thomas Markle Jr penned a scathing letter to Prince Harry, begging him to cancel the wedding because Meghan was ‘obviously not the right woman for you’ and that it would be ‘the biggest mistake in royal wedding history.’
Her other half sister, Samantha, has been no stranger to tabloid headlines, proving the most opinionated of the lot making sensational claims Meghan was always desperate to be a princess.
Kensington Palace were forced to release a statement after news Mr Markle was backing out of the nuptials, with the former lighting director also claiming he had a heart attack a week ago.
“This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation.”
It is the first time Kensington Palace has addressed any member of Ms Markle’s family despite the many controversies surrounding them and engulfing the royals — a silent strategy Ms Rieden says they will be forced to carry on with.
She said the monarchy heavily relied on their reputation with the public to weather through scandal storms.
“It’s a sound strategy not to pay attention to them,” she said.
“There’s nothing that Kensington Palace can do about them talking out.
“I think so far nobody believes what they’re saying, and there’d be no point taking out a lawsuit when their comments aren’t held in high esteem.
“They trust in the public to draw their own conclusions and make their own decisions based on the actions of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle which have been nothing but beautiful and honourable.”
Despite some claiming the growing drama is partly Meghan’s fault, with many accusing her of fuelling the situation by ignoring her family, Ms Rieden says the American TV star was successful in her own right before she was with Prince Harry and her family didn’t care to be apart of her life then.
“I don’t think she has anything to apologise for,” she said.
“She has been famous in her own right for quite a long time now and made a life for herself without her half siblings.
“She doesn’t have anything to do with them.
“It isn’t their right to suddenly be apart of her close and personal life.”
Ms Rieden, who wrote the book The Royals in Australia, said Meghan’s messy personal life actually had a positive impact on the royal-to-be in the eyes of the public.
“The larger part of commentary and social media are actually in support of Meghan, it makes her all the more relatable,” she said.
“We all understand family difficulties.
“I don’t think she’s got anything to bounce back from. She’s been very dignified.
“All that’s happened is she’s fallen in love with a man who happens to be a royal prince, and she’s trying to pursue a life separate from her half siblings who she hasn’t had a connection with for a long long time
“But I’m sure moving forward Meghan would like to have a time where she can be in a happy place with her family.”
And as for what the Queen would think of the dramas plaguing the British royal family, Ms Rieden said Her Royal Highness would be less horrified and more worried about her loved ones.
“I’m sure she is feeling sympathy with Meghan and wants to protect her grandson and his legacy, so she’s probably feeling very protective right now.”
Originally published as Meghan Markle’s family dramas: can the future royal overcome it?
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