The Duchess of Sussex’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, confirmed that a comment made by Prince Harry ahead of his 2018 royal wedding had hurt the Markle family, saying ‘something was not right’

Prince Harry’s comment about Meghan and family did not go down well with the Markles 

Meghan Markle has been estranged from her father for many years now; the 80-year-old has never met his grandchildren, Archie, six, and three-year-old Lilibet, nor his son-in-law, in person.

Prince Harry is famously no longer in contact with his family, either. And he was previously accused of widening the rift between Meghan and her loved ones when he sat down for an interview in 2017.

While speaking to Radio 4 ahead of the couple’s 2018 wedding, Harry was asked if there were family traditions he needed to explain to his future wife. “Plenty,” he said, “We’ve got one of the biggest families that I know of and every family is complex as well. She’s done an absolutely amazing job.”

He added: “She’s getting in there and it’s the family, I suppose, she’s never had.”

His remarks did not sit well with Meghan’s family. Writing in their book, Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, noted: “Harry’s comment only heightened the already tenuous family dynamic and foreshadowed what was to come.”

In response to Harry’s remarks, Meghan’s half-sister Samantha took to X (formerly Twitter ), writing: “Actually she has a large family who were always there with her and for her. Our household was very normal and when dad and Doria divorced, we all made it so it was like she had two houses. No one was estranged, she was just too busy.”

Samantha later confirmed in the 2019 Channel 5 documentary Meghan And The Markles: A Family At War that Harry’s comment had hurt the family. She said: “The first thing I thought was, ‘I don’t think Harry has been given the full story’. Something was not right. Though we weren’t the classic family together on schedule for every holiday, we were family.

“Then we questioned why… why would she be embarrassed about her family? Why would you need to set the stage differently? It was starting to feel like she wasn’t reaching out to the family.”

It comes after it was revealed that Thomas is now living in a £500-a-month high-rise flat on the densely populated island of Cebu in the Philippines. The 80-year-old former Hollywood lighting director now resides more than 7,000 miles away from his daughter.

He is being cared for by Meghan’s older half-brother, Thomas Jr, 58, as he adjusts to life in his new tropical home. But he is said to be ‘struggling’ to cope in Cebu’s punishing climate, where temperatures this week reached 33C with humidity levels approaching 90 per cent.

“There are only two types of weather in Cebu: hot and humid, and hot and humid and raining. It’s brutal even for men half his age, but it’s still sad to see him looking as though he’s struggling,” a source told The Mirror.

Thomas has been spotted using a walking stick to navigate the area’s uneven roads and paths, and he was photographed on the day after Archie’s sixth birthday sitting alone in blistering heat, outside a supermarket near his new home.

Thomas Jr, meanwhile, revealed to the Mirror that he is working on a book of his own, which will include his memories of Meghan’s childhood. He said: “When my book is finished, ooh it’ll be swooped up real quick cos it’s getting there. I’m working on it. It’s coming out.

“It’s gonna be good. I really want to maybe spin off the book, then when the book gets read, the documentary will follow. I’m not a greedy person, it’s not about the money, it’s about the principle.

“Of course it would be nice to have a nice little cushion from selling a book, sure.” Referring to his new life to the Philippines with his father, Thomas added in an online video: “Everybody wants the book. I now have dedicated time. It’s not easy moving.”