Meghan Markle reveals private call to the Queen amid family feud

Meghan Markle has opened up for the first time about a private conversation she had with the late Queen, at a “painful” point in her royal life.

Meghan Markle has opened up for the first time about the distress call she sent to the late Queen amid the very public breakdown of her relationship with her father.

In early 2019, Thomas Markle Sr leaked a private “olive branch” letter from his daughter to the media, escalating the drama between the pair which had been sparked by his staging of paparazzi photos in the lead-up to her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.

Mr Markle then spoke to numerous publications about his fractured relationship with Meghan – prompting her to finally plead with the Queen for advice.

Addressing the “painful” situation in depth for the first time in the bombshell Netflix docu-series, Harry & Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex explained that it all became “very embarrassing” for the Royal Family.

“It was a problem that needed to be solved and they wanted me to make it stop,” she said.

“I reached out to Her Majesty and was like, ‘This is what’s going on, what do you want me to do? I want to make this … like, whatever advice you have’.”

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Meghan and the Queen in 2018. Picture: Neil Mockford/GC Images

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However, she said, it was “ultimately” decided by the Queen and then-Prince Charles that she should write a letter – which, as we now know, set off a chain of events which culminated in Harry and Meghan successfully suing The Mail on Sunday for invading her privacy by publishing the private letter.

“I went to great lengths to get that letter to my dad discreetly,” Meghan revealed in the Netflix documentary.

“Because I can’t put that letter in the mail with the return address being Kensington Palace and send it to Tom Markle and assume its going to get there.

“So I sent it to my business manager in LA … and then I get the picture of the signature confirmation that it’s been delivered. And it’s not his signature. I know my Dad’s handwriting, that’s not my Dad’s handwriting. It just says ‘Thomas’.”

She added: “It was horrendous.”

After the letter was published in 2019, Harry and Meghan revealed that they sat down for crisis meetings with the lawyer for the institution and senior members of the Palace.

“It was in those meetings that I reminded them that I wrote that letter at the guidance of senior members of the family,” Meghan said.

Harry and Meghan then claimed that while it was agreed that they should “take legal action”, after “weeks and weeks”, still “nothing” was done.

It was at that point, Harry explained: “We took separate legal advice.”

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Harry has shared private details about the issues within his family. Picture: Netflix

While Harry and Meghan’s docu-series has attracted a wave of criticism for its content, its proven a ratings hit for Netflix.

In less than a week, Harry & Meghan had already broken the streaming giant’s record for the biggest documentary debut, with 81.55 million hours of viewing.

The show has also appeared in Netflix’s top 10 category in 85 countries – and, unsurprisingly, hit number one in the UK.

Tonight’s new revelations came after the first three episodes of Harry & Meghanaired last Thursday, exposing a number of new details about the early days of the couple’s relationship.

Meghan and Harry met on Instagram

In episode one, Meghan and Harry revealed the truth about how they met – slightly contradicting what the duke has said previously.

In 2017, Harry told the BBC: “It was definitely a set-up — it was a blind date. It was a blind date for sure.”

But in episode one released last week, Harry said: “We met on Instagram.

“I was scrolling through my feed and someone who was a friend had this video of the two of them and I thought ‘Who is that?’”

Harry and Meghan shared never-before-seen pictures. Netflix: Supplied

Meghan was in London to attend Wimbledon and met Harry at a bar – and their romance was almost over before it began, when Harry was very late.

“I didn’t know him,” Meghan said. “So [when he was late] it’s like ‘Oh, is this what he does?’ No. I’m not doing this. Guys who have so much of an ego that you think any girl would sit around and wait half an hour for you, I was just not interested in that.”

But when Harry showed up red-faced, sweaty and clearly mortified at his lateness, Meghan forgave him, and the rest is history.

Harry’s subtle dig at Kate

In episode one, Harry appeared to reference his sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales, while discussing how his relationship with Meghan differs from what the Royal Family have come to expect.

He said: “I think for so many people in the family, especially men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mould as opposed to somebody who you are perhaps are destined to be with.”

Harry’s warning to Meghan about paparazzi

In the second episode of the highly-anticipated series, Meghan explained that during the early days of their relationship, while she was still based in Toronto and filming Suits, she’d encountered a pack of “9 or 10” paparazzi as she left a florist.

“They were all sort of blocking the cars, going, ‘Hey, how you doing, Meghan?’, and I said ‘Oh, thanks, stay warm guys,’” the Duchess of Sussex recalled.

The next day, she told the filmmakers, she’d gotten a very strict instruction from her new boyfriend.

“I remember (Harry) saying the next day, ‘You can’t talk to them’,” Meghan said.

“And I was like, ‘I’m just trying to be pleasant, I don’t know what to do, I’ve never dealt with this before’, and he said, ‘Yes, but the UK media is saying you love it. You’re smiling. You love it.”

‘Jarring’: First meeting with William and Kate

Also in episode two, Meghan unveiled details of her “surprising” first meeting with Kate.

She said: “Even when Will and Kate came over and I met her for the first time.

“I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot.

“I’m a hugger I’ve always been a hugger. I didn’t know that could be jarring for a lot of Brits.”

“I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality out on the outside, carried through on the inside.

“That there is a forward facing way of being then you close the door and you go phew, great we can relax now.

“But that formality continues on both sides and that was surprising to me.”

‘A bit weird’: Meghan’s first encounter with Queen Elizabeth II

During the second episode, Meghan and Harry also revealed new details about her first meeting with his grandmother, the late Queen, with Harry admitting the situation was a bit “weird”.

“(Meghan) had no idea what it all consisted of, so it was a bit of a shock to the system for her,” he said.

“How do you explain (to people) to bow to your grandma? And that they’ll need to curtsy? Especially to an American – it’s weird.”

The couple have made more explosive claims about their royal life. Picture: Supplied

Meghan described the “surreal” and unexpected moment she realised she’d be meeting the monarch, and that it had been sprung on her at the last minute by her then-boyfriend.

“We were in the car and we were going to Royal Lodge for lunch and he goes, ‘Oh, my grandmother’s here – she’s going to be there after church’,” she recalled.

“And I remember in the car driving up, he says, ‘you know how to curtsy right?’ And I thought it was a joke.”

2017 engagement interview was ‘rehearsed’

Meghan scoffed at the memory of her and Harry’s 2017 BBC royal engagement interview in episode three of the couple’s Netflix docu-series.

The episode began with a flashback to Meghan and Harry’s memorable first TV appearance, which Meghan called an “orchestrated reality show,” revealing that from their adorable photo shoot to sit down chat, everything about the announcement was “rehearsed.”

From the get-go, Meghan says, they “weren’t allowed” to tell their true story when faced with questions about their relationship.