The Duchess of Sussex has reflected on “losing” her father and said it “doesn’t have to be the same” for Prince Harry and Prince Charles.
The Duke has been vocal about his strained relationship with the Prince of Wales, previously telling Oprah Winfrey in an interview that Prince Charles had stopped taking his calls after he stepped down as a senior member of the royal family.
In a new interview with The Cut, Meghan reflected on how the British tabloid press had impacted the couple’s familial lives and left her estranged from her father, Thomas Markle.
“Harry said to me, ‘I lost my dad in this process.’ It doesn’t have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that’s his decision,” she told the magazine for its Fall Fashion issue.
Meghan and Harry have long had a fraught relationship with the press.
In 2019, the Duchess sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over the publication of five articles that reproduced portions of a private letter she had written to Thomas.
Shortly after Harry and Meghan’s relationship became public knowledge, Harry issued a statement via Buckingham Palace urging the press to “pause and reflect” on their coverage of Meghan, whom he said had been “subject to a wave of abuse and harassment”.
The couple also spoke openly about their grievances with the “institution” during their 2020 interview with Winfrey.
Meghan said she had felt suicidal while living and working as a member of the royal family, and that a member of the royal household had voiced concerns about the colour of their son Archie’s skin while she was pregnant.
When asked whether she thinks there is “room” for forgiveness between her and the royal family, Meghan told The Cut: “I think forgiveness is really important. It takes a lot more energy to not forgive.
“But it takes a lot of effort to forgive. I’ve really made an active effort, especially knowing that I can say anything.
“I have a lot to say until I don’t. Do you like that? Sometimes, as they say, the silent part is still part of the song.”
