Prince Charles reportedly suggested that Meghan Markle “fly to Mexico” to try and resolve matters with her estranged father after her and Prince Harry’s 2018 wedding, a new book has claimed.
Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors by British journalist Tom Bower details the “conflict” behind the scenes in the royal family that led to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepping back from royal duties in January 2020.
It was not written with the cooperation of the Sussexes or Buckingham Palace.
The book claims that the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Meghan held a conference call just weeks after the couple’s May 2018 wedding in a bid to try and repair the dispute between the new bride and Thomas Markle.
“Can’t she just go and see him and make this stop?” Prince Charles reportedly said to Harry, according to Bower.
However, Meghan was said to have replied that it was “completely unrealistic” to think she could fly to Mexico, where her father was living, “and somehow hope to speak privately to my father without causing a frenzy of media attention and intrusion that could bring more embarrassment to the royal family.”
By July 2018, Prince Charles is also claimed to have grown frustrated with Meghan. “He had never really understood her or what she wanted,” writes Bower.
According to Meghan, her father did not attend her wedding because he was too ill.
This official explanation was also supported by Thomas who reportedly told TMZ that he was undergoing heart surgery at the time of the wedding.
However, the former Hollywood lighting director has now said he did not attend because he was embarrassed after posing for staged paparazzi photos, according to Bower.
The request followed increasing scrutiny surrounding Meghan’s father, who went on to make a series of critical remarks regarding the royal family and claimed he had no way of speaking with her.
In a July interview with The Daily Mail, the now 77-year-old said that he had been “cut off completely” from his daughter.
“I used to have a phone number and text number for her personal aides at the Palace, but after I said a few critical words about the royal family changing Meghan, they cut me off,” he said.
He added that “perhaps it would be easier for Meghan if I died”.
Clarence House and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have both been approached for comment.
