Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas, is in intensive care seriously ill.

I see this post has run to 10 pages. It’s totally beyond me why a single person cares a hoot for an American woman married to a minor royal.
Go and read a book instead of gossip about someone you will never meet and surely wouldn’t want to.

Lathyrus3,- I'm not putting forward any 'admiral reasons' regarding Meghan.

I'm putting forward my personal view that TM's behaviour in the 2 incidents I outlined is shaming and that if he truly would like to see his daughter one more time before he dies to go about it in a more intelligent way that shows that he actually loves and respects his daughter. He is the parent after all....

The OP wonders how Meghan will respond. So far, thank goodness, by dignified silence to the press in light of TM's seemingly provocative DM article this morning.

Meghan claims to have sent email to her father. He says not. Apparently he doesn’t really do emails and the email address has been dead for the past 5 years. What to believe?

She has said a bit about her ‘lonely” impoverished childhood, a “latchkey kid” whose parents had no time for her and who had to cope with making her own TV dinners.

But no she hasn’t really said anything about her father because she has wiped him from her life as if he never existed.

Personally I don’t think that’s an admirable reason for never having said anything about him.

We crossed posts LemonJam, I was replying to Lathyrus, apologies as I should have said in my response.

My post is not directed at you Casdon. I was agreeing with Luckgirl3. Plus there are some posts on this thread who find it acceptable that Thomas Markle is using the media to pay his bills, as a celebrity, i.e. in the same way that Meghan and Harry make a living via media payments.

TM is not a celebrity in my view. He happens to be Meghan's father who was an actress and celebrity making her living publicly before she met PH. He probably sees himself as a celebrity and probably feels comfortable in making money from his connection to Meghan and selling his stories to the Press, ie profiting from his estrangement. Meghan has a contract with Netflix for which she makes programmes, entirely different as she actually is a celebrity- like or loathe her.

Again I state I am no champion for Meghan but to my knowledge she has never sold stories about her estrangement from her father, never asked any newspaper to put her views and requests to her father via their newspaper for public consumption. To my knowledge she has never profited financially from her estrangement from her father. On that basis it is irrational and unreasonable to say that TM paying his bills by selling stories to the DM is comparable and therefore acceptable.

I was very uncomfortable when I saw the front page on the DM this morning on the BBC website.

I think we feel pretty much the same way about media and publicity seeking Casdon. My enjoyment of a concert this week was spoiled by the camera recording the audience for posting online later.🙁

I guess it’s Luckygirls take on things I don’t really understand. Why this is any different to all the other public exposures.

Harry used his father’s illness, he even gave an interview with a tv company after he visited his father

Please don’t think I’m defending anybody who behaves in that way, it is offensive, to me anyway, whoever does it. Illness should not be paraded in the media.

I'm with you Luckgirl3.

Mr Markle asked the Daily Mail to take his photo in his hospital bed and run with his photo and full front page headline in capitals "PLEA TO MEGHAN: SEE ME ONE MORE TIME BEFORE I DIE". No doubt he received payment from DM for his efforts...

This by the newspaper whose publishers are being sued by Prince Harry and six other household names over alleged unlawful information gathering. SHAMEFUL. Thomas Markle also has previously publicly indicated to the press he would testify to the court against his daughter Meghan in the case on behalf of the DM.

I do not know Meghan nor am I a champion or supporter for her. However such behaviour as Thomas Markle in just these two incidents alone goes some way to understand her feeling hurt. If he truly would like to see his daughter one more time before he dies some one please tell him to go about it in a more intelligent way that shows some indication that he loves and respects his daughter....

Oh you mean Thomas Markles son. Not King Charles son.

I did genuinely misunderstand 🙂

Yes, what’s the difference between Harry saying I want to see my father. I don’t know how much time there is left and Thomas Markle saying I want to see my daughter I don’t know how much time there is left.

They were both issued as media messages.

I think it’s because using illness as a form of blackmail sticks in my craw. Perhaps it’s just me, but for his son to use his father’s illness in such a public way is distasteful in the extreme.

I don’t really understand why you think this aspect of the family rift should be kept private when Harry and Meghan have been so public and detailed about other aspects of their family rift.

I don’t see the difference.

Just been in a village shop and seen the papers lined up. One has the whole front cover full of a pic of Mr Markle in a hospital bed and some nonsense headline about a father pleading for his daughter - for goodness' sake. How is it people cannot see through this cynical media nonsense?

Well I suppose the protagonists will see things SO much differently! It will be crystal to them why this is happening.

No wonder we can’t get World Peace when even families don’t get on and bear grudges! For years.

I take exception to you categorising Boris Johnson with Hitler.

And you, who claim not to know anything about Meghan, would claim she has done no harm .
Her families and ex-employees and friends might beg to differ.

And the lie about the wedding is relevant to us, simply because it was a lie. But it also made a mockery of our traditions and we foolishly thought, then, she would uphold them.

MarieElla

I really do wonder what their children will make of all this when they reach an age of understanding!
Will they be completely understanding of their parents' reasons for keeping them away from their relatives, especially their first cousins??
My mother did not like her older sister and bad mouthed her at every opportunity. When I grew up and got to know her without my mother's presence, I realised she was lovely and Mum had just been very jealous of her.
She effectively prevented me having a relationship with her and her family which was wrong of her!

Out of the glare of publicity… as children we had no contact whatsoever with my Dads family except for just one visit when I was about 13. We never did find out why nor particularly miss something actually never ever had.
Perhaps it’s made me less ‘expecting’ of relationships with relatives? Where they are there, it’s a plus? More focused on friendship groups all my life?

No point in comparing or complaining about lack of?

You couldn't make it up could you FGT's a 'peace' prize for Trump and 'Humanitarian of the Year in America' for Meghan.

Yes he’s made some silly errors of judgement but none of us are perfect.
Meghan is, apparently, at least according to some posters.

I can’t imagine how sad this 81 year old man must feel being so publicly estranged. 5 years have gone by. He wasn’t well in the end to attend the wedding (heart attack) he’s never met Harry (shocking really) and to think he’s only seen what we’ve all seen of those grandchildren of his - a baby foot of Lillibet, the back of Archie’s head etc.

I know WE don’t know the full story but c’mon Meghan (recently voted Humanitarian of the Year in America - An oxymoron if ever there was one) pick up the bluddy phone. Your dad is crying out for contact. Yes he’s made some silly errors of judgement but none of us are perfect. Not even you Meghan.

You never get over being estranged by your own child and being prevented from having a relationship with GC, but many of us do manage to accept that the relationship is over and stop hankering over something we can never have.

I think it's very sad that M's. father doesn't appear to have been able too because if that's the case, the only one who'll be hurting is him .

Well yes, f Meghan is reprehensible than her family are equally so and if her family are reprehensible than Meghan and Harry are equally so.

It’s even stevens to me.

I just don’t understand the “leave them alone, it should be private” comments when to media frontage has been and continues to be their life choice.

BlueBelle

Is he dying? many people lose a leg to disbetes !! Just saying

What a hard-hearted post.

Lathyrus3

I don’t think it’s two wrongs Casdon.

There isn’t a right or wrong of living off the media. It’s a matter of personal choice and taste. I’d hate it but others enjoy being in the limelight and decide to make their living that way.

So I wouldn’t say it’s ok for one person and not another. That’s what I don’t get.

I don’t think it is at all good to play out one’s life in the spotlight by courting publicity Lathyrus, and I don’t like the way we all feed the beast by picking over what they do. If Meghan is reprehensible for behaving that way, then her family are equally so, because they behave in exactly the same way. It mystifies me that people take sides in this scenario.