Since her sudden rise to royal superstardom, Meghan’s very public rift with her family has provided the tabloids with constant fodder and divided public opinion.
In the latest spat, Meghan’s half-sister Samantha has said she is suing the Sussex’s for defamation, and their father Thomas has sided with Samantha. The embattled father said he would be “thrilled” to face the pair in court for apparently telling lies about the family and inciting hate towards them.
Right back at the start, Meghan’s decision to go ahead with her wedding as her father received treatment for a heart problem back in the States was met with wary criticism.
While many thought her choice callous, according to the Daily Mail, Meghan’s close friend accused Thomas of “faking” his heart attack because he felt embarrassed about staging some paparazzi photographs and didn’t want to attend the wedding.
Thomas later produced the medical bills proving he had two heart attacks in the run-up to the ceremony.
Since then, the family has endured almost constant in-fighting which accurately mirrors the stark left vs right polarisation of opinions the Sussex’s seem to incite in the public.
In an exclusive interview with GB News last year, Thomas Markle, 77, pulled no punches and accused Meghan of “lying for years”:
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“Her lies are so obvious’, he said. “I don’t know why she says them”.
Now, Meghan’s half-sister Samantha, 57, has said Meghan told numerous lies about her and the Markle family during her sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, which she says damaged her career, reputation and peace of mind.
She claims Meghan made “false and malicious statements” including about her supposed estrangement with her half-sister, which Samantha says is not true, and that Samantha had only begun to use the surname ‘Markle’ after Meghan’s marriage to Prince Harry.
She also accused Meghan of fabricating an elaborate “rags to Royalty” story, insinuating she had risen out of poverty, paying for her University fees herself without help from her father.
According to Samantha, Thomas Markle had in fact paid for Meghan to attend posh private schools, paid for the inspiring actress’ dance and stage coach, and had covered the entirety of her university fees and living costs.
Mr. Markle said Meghan “can’t defend the things she said” and that he would be more than willing to testify against her in court:
“I would be more than happy to. I’ve been trying for almost four years to get to see my daughter and her ginger husband in a courtroom face-to-face. I’d be thrilled to defend my oldest daughter.”
Last November, Meghan was forced to apologize to the Court of Appeal as evidence emerged contradicting a claim she made that she did not collaborate with the authors of the book Finding Freedom.
Messages emerged that the Duchess had in fact sent researchers details about Thomas and Samantha Markle to be used for the book.
Samantha Markle’s’ lawyers in Tampa, Florida are requesting $75,000 in damages caused by defamatory statements and requested Meghan to pay for legal fees.