I was on the news desk on Friday night when Meghan Markle's latest family drama exploded - a story about her "reaching out" to her gravely ill father after years of no contact that unravelled almost as fast as it broke. What has followed really has been an embarrassing debacle, and, all the while, her father, Thomas Markle's life still reportedly hangs in the balance. But now, rather than wanting to criticise Meghan, I find myself in the rare position of almost agreeing with her, for what must have been a heartbreaking decision.
Now, let’s be clear… I am not Meghan’s biggest fan. She has done a number of things that, alongside most of the nation, have left me horrified. From her attempts to throw the Royal Family under the bus with accusations of racism and neglect of her mental health, to her dogged determination to rinse her royal titles for all they’re worth.
And how it all played out on Friday was, to say the very least, typically odd. The Times broke a story, that we then carried, saying that Meghan had reached out to her father via her aides. However, shortly after this was slapped down by her PR team.
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About the Times’ claims, the Sussexes’ spokesperson told the Daily Express: “This is a complete fabrication. No aides have been instructed to reach out.”
However, in what seemed like the next minute, there was a U-turn statement - Meghan had tried to contact her father, just not via her aides. Her spokesperson issued a new comment (probably right after she realised how dreadful it looked to deny at least trying to contact her critically ill father) which said: “I can confirm she has reached out to her father.”
Anyway, let’s cut a long story short. She didn’t do what any normal person would do and give her dad a call. No, that would be too easy (and mean she’d actually have to speak to him). Her representatives say she contacted him via, wait for it… email.
Now, I’m sorry, but anyone who has been on the planet for the last few years knows that sending someone an email is about as effective as launching a carrier pigeon with a handwritten note. I receive thousands a day, and the likelihood of being sent anything of even vague importance to my personal email address is pretty slim. And if I’d just had a major operation, the last thing I’d be doing is trawling through Black Friday spam offers clogging up my inbox.
So yes… she “reached out” (awful phrase by the way!). On paper.
In reality, what Meghan did had all the sincerity of a box-ticking exercise. Initially, like many, I’d imagine, I wondered why on Earth she hadn’t hopped on the next plane to the Philippines, where he's currently in hospital. But then this sad story got darker.
Her dad, from his hospital bed, conducted another interview with The Mail on Sunday, filmed alongside his son Thomas Markle Jr (who seems, rather enthusiastically, I must say, to be turning slagging off his sister into a career). Her father's plea was for Meghan to see him "one more time before I die." Heartbreaking - but, once again, unnecessarily public.
Let’s not forget why Meghan and Thomas's relationship initially went sour: he set up pretend paparazzi shots of him “preparing” for his daughter’s wedding for cash. Since then, her father, sister and brother have popped up here, there and everywhere, taking pot shots at her at every given opportunity.
So do I believe Meghan's version of events has always been entirely truthful? No. But do I blame her for wanting to put distance between herself and this mad circus? Not really.
Yes, it’s incredibly sad. After all, at one point, her dad came across as being the kind of father a girl could rely on. Now, it seems, his vulnerability has left him wide open to manipulation. If I could give Meghan one piece of advice? For once, when the press came calling on Friday, a simple “we won’t be commenting on this private issue” would have more than sufficed.