Meghan Markle: Family and Background - November 2017-May 2018

[ACO]

MORE 'what-about-ery'..

Errors by one individual, in NO WAY excuse the behaviour of others.. is that SO very hard for those scrabbling for excuses to grasp ?

I don't see excuses. He was wrong but you can point his error while also reminding that this is hardly new territory for the family. Some of the comments make it seem like the BRF would shun this man and ban him from the wedding.

It's a bit over the top. Both can be accurate statements. Thomas Sr did something incredibly stupid but honestly so have the members of the royal family. Now it's time to learn from it and push forward to the wedding.

 

[Ista]

MORE 'what-about-ery'..

Errors by one individual, in NO WAY excuse the behaviour of others.. is that SO very hard for those scrabbling for excuses to grasp ?

I don't really see anyone excusing Tom Sr.'s behavior. It was...not good. But I also think it is worthwhile maintaining a sense of perspective: this is not the first time someone associated with the BRF has used questionable judgment, or been caught doing something monumentally stupid, and it certainly is not the worst thing that has ever happened within the royal family.

However ill advised cooperating with the tabloid press was (and it was), Tom Sr. is still going to be walking his daughter down the aisle, he will still be received by QEII, and any private conversations about what he did will be exactly that: private. We'll never hear about them.

 

[Rudolph]

Can't help feeling #harryandmeghan* should have flown out to Mexico weeks ago and sorted Daddio out. Not good a week before #royalwedding*

Via Phil Dampier Twitter

I agree with this. Harry and Meghan had a transatlantic relationship for almost two years. What’s one more flight. Jetting to Mexico to have a meeting of the minds may have prevented the pap stroll.

 

[Osipi]

The situation with Meghan’s dad always seemed a little off to me right from the beginning. This paparazzi thing only adds to it.

I still find it unusual that Harry will be meeting Mr Markle for the first time a few days before the wedding.

I don't find this unusual at all. I didn't meet my father-in-law in person until I'd been living with and then married to my husband for three years. They were in Florida and we were in West Virginia and all of us had lives, employment and just kept in contact by phone.

We have to remember that up until last November, Harry and Meghan pretty much grabbed whatever time they could together and kept it under the radar which meant seclusion either at Nott Cott or elsewhere. With Skype and smart phones, both Harry and Meghan have probably had many, many conversations with her dad.

 

[Pranter]

They have most likely 'met' via the various chat programs. In this day and age with all the technology not too surprising.

I don't think my mother met my husband till after we married ...we lived considerable distance away from each other and everyone had jobs etc.


LaRae

 

[suztav]

I don't really see anyone excusing Tom Sr.'s behavior. It was...not good. But I also think it is worthwhile maintaining a sense of perspective: this is not the first time someone associated with the BRF has used questionable judgment, or been caught doing something monumentally stupid, and it certainly is not the worst thing that has ever happened within the royal family.

However ill advised cooperating with the tabloid press was (and it was), Tom Sr. is still going to be walking his daughter down the aisle, he will still be received by QEII, and any private conversations about what he did will be exactly that: private. We'll never hear about them.

Exactly! Leave them alone!

 

[ACO]

Can't help feeling #harryandmeghan* should have flown out to Mexico weeks ago and sorted Daddio out. Not good a week before #royalwedding*

Via Phil Dampier Twitter

I agree with this. Harry and Meghan had a transatlantic relationship for almost two years. What’s one more flight. Jetting to Mexico to have a meeting of the minds may have prevented the pap stroll.

I have serious doubts that Thomas wasn't told to stay away from the media. This is a 70+ year old man. If they were issuing complaints in his name then I am sure he was aware.

This is like when people go on that Thomas should straighten out Samantha and Tom Jr. Again, these are grown people. If they can't use basic common sense then that is not on anyone but themselves.

That said, I am on the same page of it being odd that Harry has not met Thomas yet and I suspect Meghan is not as close to her father as some want to think.

 

[evolvingdoors]

Except he met her mom during the IG week! (And possibly even before that), Meghan had time off shooting in the summer.
Therefore I disagree, it obviously did not mattered enough to Meghan to introduce her boyfriend to her father (which she claims to admire and love).
And i’m sorry, but no. Talking to your girlfriend parent via Video for the entire relationship is not like meeting said parent in person. It’a just not the same.



I only have one parent left, and while we are very different and the relationship is tricky and a bit rocky, I would never think about not introducing any serious partner to my parent (least of all one i thought I may end up getting married to - because all signs show she was gearing up for a ring in the near future as early back as March when she closed her blog).

I agree that everything about this is odd, me thinks the relationship between father and daughter is not as close as Meghan tried to portray it in the past.

 

[Marlo]

The situation with Meghan’s dad always seemed a little off to me right from the beginning. This paparazzi thing only adds to it.

I still find it unusual that Harry will be meeting Mr Markle for the first time a few days before the wedding.

Well, he did not meet Doria's family until their wedding day.

 

[JuliannaVictoria]

Except he met her mom during the IG week! (And possibly even before that), Meghan had time off shooting in the summer.
Therefore I disagree, it obviously did not mattered enough to Meghan to introduce her boyfriend to her father (which she claims to admire and love).
And i’m sorry, but no. Talking to your girlfriend parent via Video for the entire relationship is not like meeting said parent in person. It’a just not the same.



I only have one parent left, and while we are very different and the relationship is tricky and a bit rocky, I would never think about not introducing any serious partner to my parent (least of all one i thought I may end up getting married to - because all signs show she was gearing up for a ring in the near future as early back as March when she closed her blog).

I agree that everything about this is odd, me thinks the relationship between father and daughter is not as close as Meghan tried to portray it in the past.

Yeah, I admire and love my father also, but I am not close to him and he didn't meet my intended until the day I was leaving to move with him. And my father probably would not have met him if HE my dad was not in the city on business.

I actually didn't meet my in-laws until 1 1/2 years of marriage. Which in retrospect was a good thing. I think I would have bolted sooner that I did. But I digress...Harry met the people that were close to Meghan, which included her mother. She may love and admire her father, but I agree that she is not probably close to him.

Well, he did not meet Doria's family until their wedding day.

Actually, we don't know this. With the exception of the uncle by marriage, Doria's side of the family have not said a word. The Raglands would make the CIA proud. Now if I'm proven wrong in the long-run, I will gladly admit it.

 

[Ista]

I agree that everything about this is odd, me thinks the relationship between father and daughter is not as close as Meghan tried to portray it in the past.

Relationships with relatives, especially parents, can be complicated. I'm not sure why it matters if Meghan might be closer to her mother than her father, or if her relationship with her father might be complex. It's no one's business. It's not as if there needs to be some minimum level of closeness that then entitles Tom Sr. to attend his daughter's wedding and walk her down the aisle.

It's simple: she asked him to be there, and he's going to be.

 

[Marlo]

Can't help feeling #harryandmeghan* should have flown out to Mexico weeks ago and sorted Daddio out. Not good a week before #royalwedding*

Via Phil Dampier Twitter

I agree with this. Harry and Meghan had a transatlantic relationship for almost two years. What’s one more flight. Jetting to Mexico to have a meeting of the minds may have prevented the pap stroll.

Thomas is a grown man. He should have know better.

 

[DuchessMia]

Thomas is a grown man. He should have know better.

This! He knows these tabloids do not have Meghan’s best interest at heart. He should have had some inkling the pictures would be used to paint a picture about him and Meghan.

 

[ACO]

Doria's older maternal half brother spoke to the media. He basically said that after their mother died the siblings drifted apart on the Johnson side. Now on the Ragland side it seems Doria is much closer to her younger paternal half brother. So maybe that is just family dynamics. It happens.

We have two different families with Doria. The Johnsons and the Raglands.

 

[O-H Anglophile]

This! He knows these tabloids do not have Meghan’s best interest at heart. He should have had some inkling the pictures would be used to paint a picture about him and Meghan.

For pete's sake, the way some people are talking about those photos make them seem satanic or something. They were fluff photos of dad, and do not portray anyone in a negative light.

 

[Biri]

Doria's older maternal half brother spoke to the media. He basically said that after their mother died the siblings drifted apart on the Johnson side. Now on the Ragland side it seems Doria is much closer to her younger paternal half brother. So maybe that is just family dynamics. It happens.

We have two different families with Doria. The Johnsons and the Raglands.

I thought Doria had just one half-brother, Joffrey Ragland, two years younger than Meghan.
Just as Thomas Sr. has only one brother, Frederick Markle, the bishop.

Meet Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle's family | Daily Mail Online

 

[jacqui24]

I thought Doria had just one half-brother, Joffrey Ragland, two years younger than Meghan.
Just as Thomas Sr. has only one brother, Frederick Markle, the bishop.

Meet Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle's family | Daily Mail Online

Tom has another brother. The diplomat. He’s one of the ones that whined when he wasn’t invited to the wedding. He is also the one that gave DM Tom’s address in Mexico.

MORE 'what-about-ery'..

Errors by one individual, in NO WAY excuse the behaviour of others.. is that SO very hard for those scrabbling for excuses to grasp ?

No one is excusing what he did. He was wrong. People are saying that it doesn’t rise to the level of him being shut out of his own daughter’s wedding as other people have done worse before, but are still accepted within the royal fold. Why is that concept hard to grasp?

The only proof we have so far is of photo’s being made and Markle sr cooperating. That’s it... there is nothing else. No one ever believes these tabloits and now all of a sudden they are trustworthy?? Come on.

I just want to make clear that even the DM had to make clear that they don’t know if he was paid and only the paparazzi could have made up to that amount.

 

[tihkon2]

What Meghan's father did was stupid and tacky.
I feel sorry for her, that her whole paternal side of the family act so trashy.

 

[jacqui24]

I don't know if Meghan is holier-than-thou personally, but this attitude has been projected on her like on any other Princess to be, her past has been whitewashed of anything embarrassing where possible, while she is now living in her new own world with the social elite, money to no end, curtsying, smiling, being perfect.
But her family are not. Whether they are tacky or bullies or not, they are real people and are now being held to a fake moral standard that most people would fail anyway, including Meghan herself.

If the Senior has taken money it may be tacky but I don't blame him for that, he didn't ask for any intrusion.

But irony is that the real life will catch up with the Perfect Princess Meghan again at the altar, when her father leads her up, not for the last time.

How in the world has Meghan projected anything different than the rest of royal family? None of them are going to air their dirty laundry in public. If they are having a fight with someone close, they’ll work it out behind the scene and not with the tabloids. When they show up in public, they have a job to do. Putting aside whatever imperfection they may have had during their day and do the job well is called being professional. How are her family being held to a fake moral standard that most people can’t reach? Don’t go to the tabloids and lie about your half sister who hasn’t done anything to you isn’t that hard.

It’s also interesting to me that you seem to hold Meghan accountable for the intrusion they’ve faced when it reality Meghan didn’t send the tabloids and paparazzi after them. Tom Jr and Samantha has continuously courted the media throughout this relationship. Tom Jr flatout called a DM reporter to inform him that Tom Jr got engaged when they weren’t even looking for goodness’ sake. This isn’t him getting stalked. This is him having DM on speed dial.

This is getting to the point of victim shaming if not flatout victim blaming. And this is shameful.

 

[ACO]

I thought Doria had just one half-brother, Joffrey Ragland, two years younger than Meghan.
Just as Thomas Sr. has only one brother, Frederick Markle, the bishop.

Meet Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle's family | Daily Mail Online

Incorrect.

She has three siblings. Her two older maternal half siblings Joseph and Saundra Johnson and then her younger paternal half brother Joffrey Ragland.

Also Thomas Sr has two brothers. Fred and Michael.

 

[Cocoasneeze]

I think this has blown way out of proportion. He posed for a few pictures for the paparazzi. He wasn't doing anything scandalous. Stupid and ill advised, and no doubt hurt Meghan, as she seemed to be totally clueless. But he only posed for pictures.

There's no reason to ban him from.the wedding, he can very easily walk Meghan down the aisle, proudly, as she seems like a wonderful daughter.

Hopefully he learned his lesson, and knows now, that making deals with the paparazzi never ends well.

 

[jacqui24]

I think this has blown way out of proportion. He posed for a few pictures for the paparazzi. He wasn't doing anything scandalous. Stupid and ill advised, and no doubt hurt Meghan, as she seemed to be totally clueless. But he only posed for pictures.

There's no reason to ban him from.the wedding, he can very easily walk Meghan down the aisle, proudly, as she seems like a wonderful daughter.

Hopefully he learned his lesson, and knows now, that making deals with the paparazzi never ends well.

Agreed. Ultimately, he didn’t intend to hurt his daughter and I can understand his frustration with the media on him so much as he did avoid the media when the relationship emerged until his brother sold him out and has refused to share any information even with members of his family. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t think he deserves a tongue lashing from Meghan and Doria in the meantime for being stupid.

 

[tommy100]

I can understand people feeling sorry for him but I would also say this - what if this was the Middleton family caught posing for press photos for profit? Would people be as 'understanding' and kind to them? Just because her father doesn't have a lot of money does this make it the right thing to do?

IMO some things just aren't worth all the money in the world, and appearing to sell out your own child for profit is one of them. Yes he may not have understood the ramifications and his relationship with Meghan does not seem that good as to expect him to know, for example, that KP put out a statement calling for his privacy to be respected but still, no matter how new to the royal or media game you are surely most people would see it can appear at least to be selling out your own child to make money

Also, it means people, and the media, will now question everything he does in the future - was it done for profit? was it done for the press rather than Meghan and on and on. It also means people will think he is happy to sell stories and gossip about his own daughter to the press. In some ways I wouldn't be at all surprised if Meghan stops having anything to do with her family other than her mother in the future.

 

[wyevale]

don’t know if he was paid

The 'going rate' is 30 pieces of silver...

 

[jacqui24]

I can understand people feeling sorry for him but I would also say this - what if this was the Middleton family caught posing for press photos for profit? Would people be as 'understanding' and kind to them? Just because her father doesn't have a lot of money does this make it the right thing to do?

IMO some things just aren't worth all the money in the world, and appearing to sell out your own child for profit is one of them. Yes he may not have understood the ramifications and his relationship with Meghan does not seem that good as to expect him to know, for example, that KP put out a statement calling for his privacy to be respected but still, no matter how new to the royal or media game you are surely most people would see it can appear at least to be selling out your own child to make money

Also, it means people, and the media, will now question everything he does in the future - was it done for profit? was it done for the press rather than Meghan and on and on. It also means people will think he is happy to sell stories and gossip about his own daughter to the press. In some ways I wouldn't be at all surprised if Meghan stops having anything to do with her family other than her mother in the future.

Your assumption is based on if he did it for profit, which DM has pointed out in their article that they don’t know if he accepted money. Only that the paparazzi would’ve obviously made money when he sold the photos. The possibility of him posing in exchange to be left alone was raised in what was published. I think we all agree this was a bad decision, but to assume he is selling his daughter for money is quite a stretch. The photographs had nothing to do with Meghan or Harry. And if he wanted to sell his daughter out for money, he could’ve honestly done a lot more for a lot of money a long time ago.

The 'going rate' is 30 pieces of silver...

You know very well the other poster is talking in the literal sense. People are just trying to separate facts from posters’ assumption. And analogies are only effective when used accurately. Did I miss him saying or showing something about Harry and Meghan?

 

[Rudolph]

People have to be pretty naive to think this wasn’t done for money. That’s the only reason to do it.

Mr Markle knows you’re dealing with the devil when you cozy up to the paparazzi. It wouldn’t matter how many photos he gave them, they won’t leave him alone and he knows that.

 

[Cocoasneeze]

If there was any proof that he had done it for money, the DM would have printed that. They had to write, that they have no knowledge if he was paid.

 

[jacqui24]

People have to be pretty naive to think this wasn’t done for money. That’s the only reason to do it.

Mr Markle knows you’re dealing with the devil when you cozy up to the paparazzi. It wouldn’t matter how many photos he gave them, they won’t leave him alone and he knows that.

Actually, even DM had to point out to the contrary, and they are never shy about accusing people of nefarious things.

 

[Rudolph]

If there was any proof that he had done it for money, the DM would have printed that. They had to write, that they have no knowledge if he was paid.

I don’t need ‘proof’. I’m going with the most obvious explanation. I think most people will make the same conclusion. The pics are so fake it’s not even funny.

He knew the pics were going to appear in tabloids around the world. He knew the British press would figure out he posed for them. He knew it would make front pages just days before the wedding and he knew it would cause embarrassment.

Trying to make excuses just makes the whole thing more seedy imo.

 

[jacqui24]

I don’t need ‘proof’. I’m going with the most obvious explanation. I think most people will make the same conclusion. The pics are so fake it’s not even funny.

He knew the pics were going to appear in tabloids around the world. He knew the British press would figure out he posed for them. He knew it would make front pages just days before the wedding and he knew it would cause embarrassment.

Trying to make excuses just makes the whole thing more seedy imo.

Are you now seriously moving on to saying he purposely planned to embarrass his daughter publicly days before her wedding?