How Prince Harry's shocking comment 'heightened' Meghan Markle's family fallout

Prince Harry once made a comment about Meghan Markle's family that reportedly worsened tensions and further deepened the rift between Meghan and her relatives.

While Meghan remains close to her mother, Doria Ragland, and her niece Ashleigh Hale, her relationship with other family members has been strained for years, most notably with her father, Thomas Markle. 

Their fallout came just before Meghan and Harry’s royal wedding in 2018, following reports that Thomas staged paparazzi photos in exchange for payment.

During a pre-wedding interview with BBC Radio 4, Harry was asked about any family traditions he had to explain to Meghan. 

While initially praising Meghan for adapting to royal life, Harry added a pointed remark: "She's getting in there and it's the family, I suppose, she's never had."

According to royal authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand in Finding Freedom, Harry's offhand comment "heightened the already tenuous family dynamic and foreshadowed what was to come."

Shortly after, Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Markle publicly slammed Harry's comment, insisting Meghan had always had family support. 

"Actually she has a large family who were always there with her and for her," Samantha wrote on X. "No one was estranged, she was just too busy."

Samantha elaborated further in the 2019 Channel 5 documentary Meghan and the Markles: A Family At War, saying, "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."

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